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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24116485">Crater Mountain</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/UsainBolttron/pseuds/UsainBolttron'>UsainBolttron</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dungeons &amp; Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Viktor El Vidente</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Art, Bird, Blood, Blood and Violence, Camping, Canon Illustration, Comic, Digital Art, Divination, Drawing, Dungeons &amp; Dragons References, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Forced, Graphic Description, Hispanic Character, Magic, Magical Realism, Marijuana, Masturbation, Mexican Character, Mind Rape, Native American Character(s), Nature, Outdoor Sex, Public Masturbation, Rape, Rape Fantasy, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rough Sex, Sex, Sex Magic, Smut, Violence, Wizard, pot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 14:56:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>31,059</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24116485</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/UsainBolttron/pseuds/UsainBolttron</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Expert of Divination, Viktor Velasquez, has been planning his off-season trip to Crater Mountain Park for weeks. Nature surveying and flora categorizing are two of Viktor’s greatest pleasures, the tedious scribing serve as a balm for his normally active mind, massaging it to soothing comfort with endless hours of repetitive observation and fact recalling. Viktor planned the trip around solitude, he expected he and his raven familiar Memoria would be among just a handful of campers visiting the vast nature preserve. Things don’t go as planned, however, when Memoria spots a camp belonging to a young man and woman and Viktor decides to investigate…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Viktor/ Chrysalis</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Hunter/Gatherer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Chapter1 is mostly a slow burn of an introduction where you are introduced to Viktor and Memoria, so it does not contain anything <i>too</i> explicit. However, things ramp up in chapter 2 and they go off the rails in chapter 4 and 5. Chapter 3 offers more insights into some of the other characters. Chapter 5 contains an explicit rape scene, so please proceed with caution. There is racial tension throughout the story as well. So, for now, enjoy the peace and solitude of chapter 1<br/>-- @smutstravaganza --</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://imgur.com/YEdRQgl"></a><br/></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Part One: Hunter/ Gatherer<br/>
For the first five days of his (so far) three week long camping trip, Viktor spent a surprising amount of time inside his small hidden camp ground, an annoying inevitability that he had hoped to avoid. Viktor hated himself a little for bestowing the almost impossible task on himself all those years ago. When Viktor Velasquez was first wooed by The Family, a coven of influential sorcerers, to join their ranks about four years ago, he was extremely hesitant to accept their very generous offer. The Family had a reputation for being complete hard asses on outside members, and Viktor was as outside of a member as they could get. Viktor had rejected their initial offers, a thing which amused and annoyed his raven Familiar, Memoria. But when the Family agreed to handsomely finance his personal side project of chronicling the local flora and fauna, Viktor and Memoria both knew he had to take the job. For Viktor, scribing the fascinating details of so many useful and beautiful plants was like functional meditation. However, it also meant that most of his time was spent with his nose buried in some book... a fascinating book, but a book nonetheless. This cloistering happened on most of his previous field excursions, so, he wasn't surprised it was happening on this one. Seculsion was a way of life for Viktor, which is why the life of a self-taught wizard suited him so well. However, Viktor managed to spend half the day Monday wandering about the Elysian Fields, a vast carpet of wildflowers a half mile south of the falls north east of where he made camp. It was early spring, which meant the amber aster was in full bloom, the large topez colored wild flower had been one of the main reasons for this trip, he had longed to examine its natural ecosystem, and to admire the rugged terrain that nurtured the plant to full growth. He also wanted to take a few clippings of the plant back with him, its roots contained powerful agents that were necessary in his practice of <i>arcane divination</i>. The timing of his trip also meant most of the park would be devoid of hikers and tourists. Perfect surveying conditions, Viktor thought to himself.<br/>
<br/>
Viktor’s base of operations during the trip was a simple but comfortable yurt that he erected in a clearing a little more than 8 miles from Cascadia Falls. Every square inch of the round yurt was occupied efficiently, he had spent a day completing its construction by himself, a difficult task for a single person, but doable for one as determined and prepared as Viktor was. A small efficient electric heater sat in the center of the structure, the heater was powered via a solar panel and battery system. A small babbling creek that snaked down to the falls ran adjacent to Viktor’s camp, it served as a source of fresh water for him. Viktor had managed to lug a decent number of books authored on the subject of ecological surveying and flora categorization as well as a few modern conveniences like a laptop, a 2’ tall metallic water filtration system and a GPS cell phone. The cellphone was actually a convenience forced upon him by his boss, Adler, a tall, dark haired, gaunt man who insisted on knowing where Viktor was at all times <i>just in case</i> The Family needed Viktor’s <i>skills</i> for whatever nefarious scheme they were concocting. This constant monitoring of him was a thorn in Viktor’s side, but for this trip, Viktor cleared his mind of his racing thoughts of Adler and of The Family. For these trips, Viktor’s responsibilities to The Family were not a priority. Viktor sat at his desk slumped over a large open book and mumbling outloud to himself as his hand glided and brushed across the heavy vellum pages, his pen scratching nearly illegible thoughts on his current obsession, <i>verdant fox tail</i>, an invasive English fern with a curious purple tipped megaphyllis that he had spotted on his Monday excursion to the Elysian Fields. With a nearly inaudible flutter Memoria flew in through the open yurt door, which was being propped open with Viktor's sneakers, and she landed onto the heavy metal tank of water that rested near the small inflatable mattress across the room, her claws making a light clang against the metallic surface of the tank. The large raven ruffled her pitch black feathers and then curtly squawked “Will you be inside all day?” Viktor remained silent, scribbling quickly into the large book which he already managed to fill  with every minute ecological detail that he could cram onto its wide rough pages. Viktor ignored the raven, as he didn’t want to lose his train of thought. Memoria watched as her Master sat glued to his seat and laser focused on his scribing. Memoria could detect no emotion through her and Viktor's shared <i>empathic thread</i>, a fact which meant that Viktor was in "The Zone" as he liked to call it. Memoria didn't care what he called it, but she was glad he was in this state of mind as opposed to his other more... lively states.  However, Viktor had been inside for most of the trip already, so it was necessary to coax him out. “You should see the northern fields! There’s a magnificent lake there! And I’m pretty sure I spotted a <i>nymph</i> by the falls!” Viktor finished writing his sentence, shut his strained, tired eyes tight and massaged them with his thumb and index finger, all he could utter was a simple and slightly interested “Oh?”  as he turned around to face Memoria. Memoria's feathers ruffled with the excitement of having Viktor's attention, "Yeah, a Nymph! She was beautiful! You should have been there!" Viktor's face eased from solid contemplation to exhausted elation, or whatever feeling most closely resembling elation. Viktor wasn’t a fluent interpreter of human emotion, a detail that annoyed others more than it did himself. Viktor shifted his weight in the foldable chair he'd been sitting in for most of the day, and he turned away from his writings to suspiciously look at Memoria. And the chair creaked under his shifting weight when he bent down to sift a pile of books that were stacked next to the table. Viktor searched frantically for his book on rare arcane creatures, he was sure it was in this stack as he has been reading it last night. Viktor found the book and hurriedly flipped the worn pages for the "N" section, as he searched he darted his narrowed eyes over toward Memoria “A <i>nymph</i>? Near the Falls? That's exciting!” Surprised and amused at Viktor's falling for her lie, Memoria hopped up into the air with excitement, it wasn't often she could fool Viktor! Memoria waggled her tail feathers with glee as she confessed, “Well… ok, I didn’t… <i>actually</i> see a nymph, it was just an extremely attractive woman…but now I know your ears are working perfectly well!” Viktor’s face flushed with anger. Memoria hopped onto the cluttered desk that Viktor had been working on, she took care not to disturb any of the several open reference books that crowded the table. She looked down at the thick book which Viktor had been writing in and scanned the page, checking his work for a minute or so, “hmm…a lot of detail here. Ah! I see you finally finished the Verdant Faun's Tail entry! Good work!” Viktor cringed at Memoria's mis reading "verdant <i>FOX</i> tail" he snapped. Memoria spent a minute to finish reading the page, and then carefully stepped over to the edge of the desk and began preening her large flight feathers “Aren’t you going to answer me, Master? There’s plenty of daylight left, don’t forget you promised yourself you would spend more time in the fields this go-round! There’s much to see”. Viktor leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes tight as he rubbed his hands down his face and massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He pulled his long dark wavy hair back out of his face and breathed in deeply. A feeling of rage washed over his body, <i>this</i> sensation he could pinpoint more accurately than the others. Viktor was not in the mood for jokes. Toying with him like that…<i>what a disrespectful familiar</i>, he thought. Most wizards wouldn’t put up with such insubordination! He turned to eject some biting remark at the raven, but Viktor caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror that stood on his cluttered writing desk. His usually even brown skin appeared pallid, he looked ragged and he had dark bags under his eyes from intense unbroken studying and a lack of sleep. He hadn’t shaved since he’d left town so a patchy growth of beard was developing, his hair was shaggy and unkempt. Viktor had never been very concerned with looks or appearances but even <i>he</i> had to admit he looked…rough.  He couldn’t even recall when he last bathed. He was sure he was wearing the same broken-in t shirt and light materialed hiking shorts that he had been wearing since he first arrived about three weeks ago, <i>God, I must smell awful</i> he thought. Viktor was now relieved Memoria had come back when she did. She stood on the desk and pulled at his hand with her broad beak. He began rubbing under her feathered chin and he gave her a smile as he said, “You’re right. I’d love to go for a hike a bit north, take the Sylvian Trail to Deer Ridge. Is there time?” He looked at his wrist watch, and then into a small journal in which he had recorded all the trail heads. “Hmm… Deer Ridge is a 90-minute hike… and its four ‘o clock now. There’s plenty of time!” It was at this moment he noticed Memoria was clutching a small cloth of some kind in her talons.<br/>
<br/>
Memoria noticed Viktor staring down at the prize she was clutching, so she leapt off the desk and, with a single beat of her broad wings, landed onto a small stack of books that stood clear across the yurt.  “What have you got there?” he asked Memoria in a low commanding voice, Viktor snapped shut the cover of the heavy journal he had been writing in and he stood from the chair slowly. As he rose from the chair, he felt dizzy and lightheaded, he was probably still hungover from last night. “Just… something I found!” she cawed. Memoria was always defensive of her prizes, a detail which frustrated Viktor to no end “Well, <i>obviously</i>. But what <i>is</i> it?” Viktor took a step toward her which prompted her to fly out of the yurt over to a short flat stone which lay near the creek about 50’ away. He followed the raven out of the yurt, and as he walked, he was overcome with a tremendous urge to piss, so he walked past Memoria who was perched defensively on her rock, ready to fly away if Viktor so much as <i>glanced</i> in her direction. He continued toward the creek and scowled, muttering under his breath “Fine, keep your secrets” as he walked, he twisted the buttons of his fly loose and slipped his fingers through the opening. He stopped at the bank of the creek and relaxed, and he welcomed the sudden release of pressure, as the heavy stream of piss he’d been holding spilled into the cold rushing water. Silence passed between them as he thought <i>God, I have a terrible headache. I'm out of booze. Shit, I need to make a beer run. Ugh. </i>. Viktor dreaded the thought of driving his ancient hatchback to the small mountain town and having to interact with the local hicks, Viktor imagined their blue eyes scanning him, angry, ignorant and judgmental. Viktor shuddered at the thought of one of the locals asking what he, an obvious stranger, was doing up in <i>these parts</i> this time of year. He decided, if he <i>did</i> go, he would definitely need to clean himself. Noticing Viktor was occupied, Memoria delicately unfolded the cloth just a little to get a hint of a glance of the brilliantly polished translucent surface. Mesmerized, Memoria stared into the perfectly cut faces and gazed into the reflections of herself. Memoria darted her attention back up at Viktor, “Well, if you decide to hike North, like I said, there are people up there.” Viktor raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder in her direction and gave her a look of distrust “<i>People</i>The Nymph's got a boyfriend?” Memoria's attention shot back to the reflective surfaces of her precious, Viktor could hear her making low repetitive calls to it. Viktor turned to hopefully catch a glimpse of whatever the hell she was hording, it seemed to be reflective and golden, like a ring of some kind. Memoria finally responded to Viktor's earlier question, “Yes… I mean <i>no</i>! Well, what I mean is… yes, there <i>is</i> a couple. A young man and the nymph, or like I said, she was probably just a human woman. I did actually think she was a Nymph when I first saw her! Promise! The man was at a camp near the lake. And, the woman was at the falls. Alone. She <i>was</i> naked. That bit was true.” As Memoria finished her sentence, a thought filled Viktor's mind <i>Sheesh, how much did I drink? </i> He turned back around to watch his yellow stream flowing steadily into the babbling waters <i>Maybe I’ll fill this creek with my piss</i>. He chuckled aloud. A few seconds passed when he asked “A nymph? Wow. Was she really that attractive?” No answer. After a few more seconds, when the stream finally subsided, Viktor buttoned up and looked around for Memoria, he spotted her in the Yurt, hiding the ring somewhere inside where he couldn’t find it. <i>A couple nearby… she must have stolen that ring from them</i>. Viktor lingered on the thought of a woman attractive enough for Memoria to mistake her for a nymph. Viktor avoided watching Memoria while she hid the ring so the process could pass quickly. If he watched her, Viktor would be there all day as Memoria hopped around from place to place pretending to hide her stash, in an attempt to obfuscate the ring’s <i>true</i> hiding place. Her coveting and stealing of precious objects was typical of the Common Raven, the species from which Memoria originated, but Viktor was always uneasy when she brought home a new treasure, as her treasures were usually very valuable and Viktor was never certain from where they came, also, Viktor didn’t really like Memoria hiding things from him, no matter how small. He walked a few hundred feet west to the tall tree where he had secured their food supply and began lowering the bundle to prepare a late lunch. Afterward he would make the hike north.<br/>
<br/>
Lunch was quiet and short, Memoria sat perched on a very tall tree and watched as Viktor ate rice and the rest of what was left of a can of lentil soup. Afterward Viktor enjoyed a cigarette while finishing the last bit of a mystery novel that a friend of his had written. The plot was predictable but the protagonist was surly and clever, he reminded Viktor of himself. As he finished the novel, Viktor thought it would be nice to smell like a normal human being again, instead of a filthy forest beast, so he disrobed near the creek and scrubbed his body clean, as he did, the thought of seeing this <i>nymph</i> that Memoria spoke of crossed his mind. He’d been in absolute cloistered seclusion for more than a week and he thought it would be nice to see the smiling face of an attractive woman. Viktor brushed back his thick, dark brown hair, pulled on a long sleeved, loose-fitting shirt, and slipped on the shorts he had been wearing previously. He found a pair of clean red ringed socks and hoisted them up his calves, which were covered in a tangle of dark hair and marked with small childhood scars from his days living in the tiny, beautiful destitute town outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. As he began loading his pack, Memoria glided down from her tree and perched on her Master's shoulder and cawwed cautiously,  “I’d like to come with you!”, she wasn't sure if Viktor was mad at her for razzing him earlier. Memoria was surprised when Viktor smiled and said "Perfect. A companion would be enjoyable for a trip like this." Memoria churpped gleefully. As he bent over to shove some supplies into his pack, Viktor muttered in a somewhat passing tone "I was thinking of that <i>nymph</i> you mentioned earlier. I… I’d like to go north to see if I can spot her. Would you mind a short detour?” Memoria stood on Viktor’s shoulder and preened her primary flight feathers as she worked out his statement in her mind “Oh? You want to get a glimpse of this woman, huh? Tired of your self-induced exile?” Memoria cawed an eerie high pitch chuckle. Viktor smiled wryly “Sure, why not? Besides, there’s a huge lake up there. We could check that out too, maybe take a lunch break on our way up to Deer Ridge”. Memoria pulled at Viktor’s ear with her beak and said “OK, but you have to <i>promise</i> to be on your best behavior! We don’t want to startle these strangers, or give them cause for alarm”. Viktor winced as Memoria pulled at him and he brushed his hand at her hold on his ear to get her to stop “Best behavior. Promise”. Memoria released him and he smiled and rubbed under her chin and they set off north.<br/>
<br/>
The Sylvian Trail toward Deer Ridge ran north toward Crater Falls. The trail took them through wide and winding verdant hills which were dotted with the bright delicate petals of the flowers that grew wild in these parts, their sweet-smelling pollen hung in the air and tickled Viktor’s senses. Memoria soared overhead, hovering near Viktor and riding the cool spring breeze. Occasionally she would perch on a tall tree branch to wait for her Master to keep up. Viktor strolled leisurely along the trail, occasionally stopping to enjoy an odd looking specimen, or to sketch the stamen structure of a plant he'd been reading about and finally caught a glimpse of. Viktor's mind wandered to the work he had completed and the work he had yet to do. The trail cut through blossoming hills and meandered along the vast fields of fertile growth that lured Viktor on these trips year after year. As the travelers progressed, the trees grew denser. Their vast immense trunks towered over the walking trail, creaking and swaying in the steady gusts of wind. Viktor’s mind lingered on the thought of this mysterious woman and about how nice it would have been to watch her as she bathed in the waters of the falls. After about an hour the two travelers approached a steep and thickly wooded incline, Viktor’s eyes followed the trail as it snaked up through large boulders which were grasped by massive trees that teetered precariously along the hillside. Memoria, who had been waiting on a branch of one of the teetering trees glided down onto Viktor’s pack when he arrived at the base of the ascent. Memoria whispered into his ear, “The trail continues up this rocky hillside. Once you ascend, the couple’s camp will be close by and so will the lake” Viktor detected a nervousness in her usually monotonous voice. He looked at her puzzled, “What’s wrong?” A few seconds passed as Memoria thought about how she should frame her next words, “Maybe… we should skip the detour. If we keep heading north, we can make it to Deer Ridge in about 20 minutes.” Memoria was getting nervous about this detour, she was starting to think visiting the lake was a bad idea. She was accustomed to Viktor’s short temper and she had witnessed occasions when Viktor’s anger got the better of him, she didn’t want to risk an uneasy altercation with strangers. Viktor stopped to examine the steep hill that the path wound up, he then looked at the trail map. In a hushed voice he tried to put Memoria’s worries at ease “I said I would be good, didn’t I? Don’t you trust me? I won’t bother either of them. The lake is really close by. We’ll go straight there and we’ll take a short break. If we see this <i>nymph</i>, bonus. If not, we’ll just move on, OK?” Viktor voice was uncharacteristically buoyant, and Memoria could sense the slight electrical tinges of excitement through the empathic link that the two of them shared which made Memoria's feathers stand on end. He always got excited at the scent of an attractive woman, but he often left the pursuits of them to other, more <i>socially adept</i> men. However, Memoria had to admit, it was good to see him interested in something other than his work for a change. So, she relinquished. Besides, Memoria knew all to well that once her Master sets his mind on something, he pursues the thing relentlessly until he either gets what he is after, <i>or</i> until he is certain the goal is unattainable.<br/>
<br/>
Viktor began the steep climb, using the large rough rocks as footing up the steep pathway. He quickly hoisted himself up the slope as Memoria stood on the thick canvas of his pack. As he climbed Memoria added “Don’t surprise them, the male could have a gun. You must be careful” Viktor trudged upward, careful not to grab a loose rock, her statement made him stop for a moment “A <i>gun</i>? Did you see one?” he asked breathlessly. Memoria didn’t answer. He continued and began contemplating the thought of a white couple being startled by <i>an ethnic</i> stranger’s presence in this vast secluded wilderness. Viktor considered his appearance, he was a stout, stern looking Mexican Indian, his hair was pulled back but it was still thick and messy and he hadn't shaved since he'd arrived at the mountain. He knew it was entirely likely that if the male <i>did</i> have a gun, he wouldn’t hesitate to turn it on him. However, Viktor always traveled with a large utility knife, so he wasn’t completely defenseless, though the thought of actually using it on someone made him cringe. He decided he’d be as careful as possible. “I’ll be on my best behavior” he repeated serenely. Memoria could sense his sincerity which eased her mind. “Besides, I have an ace in the hole spell that I’ve been developing. I’ve been eager to try it out. This is a perfect opportunity!”, they were nearing the top of the hill, Viktor’s pace quickened as the thought of seeing this <i>nymph</i> dominated his mind. Memoria was taken aback momentarily by her apparent gap in knowledge, “Spell? What spell?” she cawed anxiously. Viktor smirked, as he recovered his breath from the ascent, “I guess we both have a secret now, huh?” Viktor smirked and took in his surroundings as they reached the top of the steep hill, the forest cover was thinner up here however, there were still too many trees to get a solid view of the area. He spotted some wild berry bushes whose fruit had not yet come into season. He walked over to a small patch of fragrant mint and he knelt down and picked a small bunch. He held the delicate plant under his nose to savor the sweet smell, and he pulled at its small thin leaves, which were fuzzy and deeply fragrant. Viktor slowly and silently walked forward, keeping his eyes open for any movement. Memoria leapt from her perch on his pack and flew stealthily through the trees to scout. Waiting for Memoria to return, Viktor closed his eyes and listened for anyone who could be nearby, after a few moments he was startled by the sound of high-pitched laughter coming from the east. A minute passed and Memoria flew back toward him. She steered him off of the Sylvian Trail and down an eastward incline. He was walking for about 5 minutes when he started hearing the faint sound of voices. “Here they are. Tho, we have to continue eastward to get to the lake” Memoria flew 400 or so feet ahead of him and perched high in a tree, waiting for him to continue toward the lake. However, Viktor veered slowly in the direction of the voices. The terrain was thick with scattered brush, so Viktor was careful as he slowly inched forward, and he soon spotted a bright blue tent in a clearing. Viktor held his breath as he moved quietly toward their voices, making sure to make as little noise as he could. He saw smoke from a campfire and there was the deep pitch of a man’s voice, and then the flash of that same high pitched giggle. The giggling gave Viktor a rush of excitement. <i>At least one of them sounds happy</i>. The laughter sounded warm and sincere. Viktor hadn’t been within earshot of such sincere laughter for… well, he couldn’t remember when. Most of Viktor’s time was spent advising Adler and <i>The Family</i>, a coven of sorcerers who were as cold as they were demanding. And Viktor's coarse, blunt personality didn’t help him win any friends among mundane people either. Viktor stooped low next to some heavily leaved bushes and breathed slowly could hear the couple's conversation more clearly. The man and woman were enjoying a meal and conversation. Viktor could hear the clanging of pots and plates and he caught a whiff of a savory stew of some sort. It appeared that the couple were slightly unfamiliar yet comfortable with each other, Viktor deduced that the two had possibly only been dating for a few months. This was the couple’s first time camping at Crater Mountain and both were excited to be away from the complications of the big dangerous city. It sounded like the woman was the adventurous one of the two, she spoke of the event that Memoria had witnessed, the woman's private expedition to the falls. The woman confessed that she wished her mate could have joined her there, she described how exhilarating it had been to stand completely naked under the rushing freezing waters. Her voice was light and even.  Viktor’s heart skipped and he took in a heavy breath when she revealed this. <i>So, this is her</i> he thought. Viktor was eager to get a good look at her. The couple fell quiet and Viktor froze for a few moments trying to make out what they were saying or doing. As he stooped in silence and listened, he closed his eyes and pictured a body to go with the voice he was hearing, he imagined round brown eyes and a small frame sensuous frame to go with the bright and welcoming voice. Viktor imagined this mysterious woman looking back at him as she stood under the rushing waters of the falls, unafraid of his covetous gaze. Viktor noticed a heavy fluttering sensation and the creeping stiffness of an erection. He wondered what color her hair was, the scent of her… He realized it had been God knows how long since he had seen a naked woman in person, and the thought of seeing one tonight sent a rush through him. He stood there still and breathless, hoping to catch the flight of her laughter, but he could hear nothing but wildlife scuttling around in the trees. After a few minutes, Viktor allowed the stiffness to subside, he then moved forward, walking steadily toward the nearby lake and caring less about disturbing the two. He made his way toward the lake's shore, which was a few thousand feet ahead, making sure to keep a distance between himself and the couple’s camp.<br/>
<br/>
The lake near the couple’s camp was still and glistening. The sun hung low in the sky, it’s gradient coloring the areas it beamed against, it’s reflection danced across the vastness of the rippling waters. The lake’s shores stretched across for miles, large trees stood in line along a narrow rocky beach. Bird calls echoed across the wide arena, Viktor admired the serenity as he approached the shore, and he sat his bag down and unpacked a few of his belongings. Memoria flew over to a nearby tree, watching him as he pulled out the novel he’d finished earlier today and the sandwich. He tore off a piece of the sandwich and gestured it toward the raven. She looked away as if to shun him. He didn’t care if she was upset because he had lingered too long at the couple’s camp, or because he refused to tell her the name of his “secret weapon” spell, she’d get over it. Viktor waited for a while, finishing his sandwich and lying back against a large rock a few hundred feet of the small path that led him to the shore, he was anxious and excited. Maybe the couple had heard him and got spooked. He took the novel and opened it to the first page. He’d decided he would wait for another fifteen minutes, and then head back toward Sylvian Trail to make his way to Deer Ridge. A few pages in to his reread, Viktor caught movement in his periphery. He turned and saw a slender woman with full dark brown shoulder length hair, exiting the path that spilt onto the lake’s rocky beach. The woman’s tanned skin complemented the dark red form fitting bathing shorts she was wearing. She strode confidently from the path, her full hips swaying gracefully as she balanced a large umbrella and bright bag under her arm. Her top was light and loose and bellowed in the wind. He was a fair distance away, but his lingering gaze still caught her attention. Her confidence waned and he watched as her body language stiffened at her noticing his presence. He looked down at his book again, deciding on why it was a bad idea to approach her. He had gotten what he wanted… a full look of her. Besides, what about her mate? Viktor was certain the man would not be very fond of a complete stranger intruding on their privacy, especially since the vastness of the park was supposedly unoccupied this time of year, Viktor was sure that the coincidence of him being there would be startling for the couple. Viktor stopped for a few minutes and listened for the male’s voice or footsteps, but he heard nothing. The woman found a small less rocky clearing a few hundred feet away , and rolled out a large bright towel onto the ground and began settling in. Viktor looked through his bag and found a dark vial which contained a number of small white square tabs. Viktor carefully emptied one of the tabs into his outstretched palm, corked the vial, and then secured the vial back into his pack. Each of the tabs were dabbed with <i>essence of aladae</i>, a key material component of his <i>Ace in the Hole</i> spell, which he had been studying for months. Viktor pulled the piece of cellophane from the tab’s sticky backing and secured it onto his rough palm with the concentrate side facing out. He then stood up carefully and walked over to the woman. She was midway through securing the umbrella onto a small pillar of rocks, when she noticed him walking toward her. She eyed him cautiously as he moved forward. As he walked, he quickly muttered the words that were necessary to complete the spell to himself. This was the first time he’d cast the spell, and now that the words were spoken, all he needed now was for her to make contact with the essence of aladae dipped tab on his hand. He noticed he was carrying the stupid book that he had been reading, he flashed a broad smile at her as he approached. She politely returned his smile and said “hello there. I… hope I’m not disturbing you!” he sensed an uneasiness in her voice, her delicate features could not hide the worry she wore. Viktor couldn’t recall ever seeing a woman so beautiful in person, besides the sorceresses he encountered at work. This woman could have been a film actress or maybe a clothing model. When she spoke, her voice rang out like a wind chime and he was startled by how hard it was for him to actually respond. He swallowed hard, “oh, haha! Not at all!” He continued walking toward her more confident now, she was only about 20 feet away. He was distracted by her, which caused him to lose his footing on a small slick stone, she laughed nervously. She was kneeling on the large blanket and had finally secured the umbrella, so she  hoisted it open and secured the latch onto its ring to keep it open, happy with her work she sat down on the blanket and pulled out a drink from her bright bag, took a sip and then sat it down. She looked up at him, her slender hand shielding her face from the brightness of the setting sun which reflected against the water’s surface. He couldn’t pin down her race, possibly South American. Viktor’s eyes roamed down to her long full legs which were dusted with flecks of ash from the burning wood fire back at camp, the black specks contrasting nicely against her warm colored flesh. Her feet were delicate, and her toes were tipped with dark blue nail polish flecked with silver, grass and debris clung delicately onto them. Before she sat down, Viktor directed his gaze to her hips, which were hugged by the deep red colored bathing shorts which stretched tightly against the fullness of her ass, its folds pouring delicately out across the tops of the backs of her thighs. Viktor felt the pulsing of another erection. Fuck not now… He focused and lifted the heavy silence that hung between them. “No, uh… I just saw you from over there and thought I’d say hello.” He realized that he had stopped at an odd distance from her, too far for normal conversation, so he walked forward and extended out his right hand, trying to keep his palm flat to the ground so she wouldn’t notice the tab on his right palm. She paused for a moment, probably trying to think of a reason not to take his tawny outstretched hand, the top of which was covered in dark tufts of hair, his fingers thick and course, each encircled by a variety of rings made from silver and precious stones, his fingernails lined with dirt and bitten down to numbs. He thought of how grotesque his hand might look to her. She offered him a polite smile and reached up and took his hand, he clasped hers firmly, it felt so smooth against the roughness of his own. She looked up at him and said, “Hi there. I’m Chrysalis. Nice to meet you…” she looked into his eyes waiting for him to introduce himself. He met her gaze but he couldn’t keep himself from looking down her chiffon top, which was thinner than he expected. From his position above her, Viktor had a perfect view of the form of her breasts, as the delicate material of her top fluttered in the soft evening wind. The thin material clung to the contours of her small round breasts and accentuated the firmness of her nipples. He wondered how surprised she’d be if he slipped his hand down the opening of her top to take hold of her to explore her softness. He snapped out of his daze when he realized she was still waiting for his name… “Vi-Vincent. I’m Vincent. Very nice to meet you, Chrysalis. Gorgeous name by the way” Viktor squeezed her hand firmly enough for her to make contact with the concentrate on the tab, he savored the sensation of her touch, then he pulled his hand away, and slid it back into the pocket of his shorts. Shit…. Why had he given her a false name? Whatever, it didn’t matter. Viktor took in the contours of her body again as she sat back shaded under the large umbrella. He allowed a few beats to pass before he said “Gosh, what a beautiful sight” he looked away from her and out toward the gleaming lake. She laughed nervously, but joined him in admiring the scene. After a minute or so of silence, Viktor sighed “Well, I suppose I should be leaving, I want to hike the Sylvan Trail further north to Deer Ridge before it gets too late. I’ll leave you to your privacy” he looked over to see if her mate was arriving onto the scene. Still clear. He looked for Memoria, who was still perched in the tree near his belongings, dutifully keeping watch. Chrysalis sat up attentively, almost as if she had been woken from a trance “Leaving? Oh no! I was enjoying your company, Vincent!” Viktor’s thick eyebrows rose slightly and elation stirred in him. She was looking directly at him with disappointment painted across her face, she drew her smooth legs drawn up against her chest and rested her head and arms on her knees. She looked measurably more comfortable with his presence. “En…joying my company?” he asked, “Well, if I’m being honest I was starting to think that I was creeping you out which… is why I decided to come over to introduce myself” she continued her eye contact with him “Well, I was awfully nervous at first, I admit. I think you might <i>actually</i> be the first person I’ve seen since we’ve been camped here near the lake, but after talking to you, I’m not afraid at all. You seem like a very nice guy, Vincent. Though, I understand if you have to go…” Viktor’s heart pounded in his chest. “Staying a little longer can’t hurt. I can visit Deer Ridge tomorrow.” A wide smile spread across her face. She sat back on the bright blanket and offered Viktor a canned cider. He thanked her and took it, it was cool and crisp, much like the evening they were enjoying together. Viktor sat down and sang joyfully in his head. The spell had worked. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Blood in the Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viktor and Chrys enjoy each other's company.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>--This chapter is very sexually graphic so READER BEWARE--</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Viktor sat cross legged near Chrysalis, who was lying on her belly beneath the broad shade of the umbrella. He was pretending to reread the novel he had brought over but his rapt attention was on Chrys and her shimmering body. Viktor sat quietly and sipped his drink while she rested and absorbed the sun’s rays. She closed her eyes and dozed for a moment. She was so completely relaxed around him. This was such an unfamiliar feeling for Viktor that he had to suppress the waves of anxiety that accompanied the uncertainty of the situation, the waves rose and fell almost as steadily as Chry’s deep breathing. After a few minutes had passed, Viktor managed to calm down. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, turning his attention to the natural splendor of the lake. He marveled at his handiwork, the charm spell which he had been studying and perfecting for the last few months, a spell which had coaxed Chrys from her initial uneasiness to her current state of serenity. Viktor was glad that he was finally able to try the spell out, and it had worked as he had expected. As Chrys lay there scantily clad and outstretched before him, Viktor’s mind began to wander. He watched Chrys’s bronzed skin glistening in the light of the lazily setting sun. He lingered on the thought of placing a hand on her to lightly rub her back, he thought of slipping a hand down her impossibly small shorts to massage her buttocks and knead the fullness of them slowly. He watched her and imagined sliding his hand to the inside of her thighs and slipping his finger between her labia to explore the warmth between her legs. He wanted to experience the softness of her body so badly, the thought dominated his mind. His heart fluttered and he flushed when the familiar pulsing between his legs crept in, his erection had returned. It expanded to fullness as his thoughts lingered, <i>now would be a perfect time to take her</i>, he thought. Would she fight him if he tried? His hard on throbbed and strained against the thin material of his hiking shorts. The fullness of it was noticeable and pronounced, it laid warm and rigid along his hip in anticipation of use. It was firmer this time and also more uncomfortable as it pressed against its confines. He placed a hand over his crotch in a futile attempt to hide his stiffening cock. He looked back at the path and when he was confident with the thought that Matt wasn’t coming, Viktor grasped his hard on firmly instead of hiding it. He began stroking it through the softness of his shorts, reveling in the fantasies that danced through his mind. Viktor sat back in a recumbent position and watched Chrys, her breathing was rhythmic and deep. He allowed the memory of his most treasured sexual encounter to take over. It happened about five years ago with his closest high school friend, a quiet, shy girl who was three years Viktor’s senior. She liked to hide her face behind her hair, she seemed to be embarrassed by her attractiveness, and she was almost as socially awkward as he was. She’d already graduated high school and was working while attending a local junior college. Viktor had known her since middle school and had developed feelings for her early in their friendship. It took Viktor <i>years</i> to work up the nerve to confess his feelings, the forwardness of his confession was startling for her. She was a virgin, she explained, but he had confessed that he was too. She told Viktor that someone else had been pursuing her, a guy in one of her classes. Viktor blushed as she told him how she and this <i>guy</i> had gone out on a date and later that night the guy had asked her to suck his cock. She told Viktor she’d refused, but she was pretty sure he was still going to ask her out on another date despite this. After weeks of coercion Viktor finally convinced her to let him finger her while they were smoking in his small bedroom “It’s not cheating” he whispered to her. “He hasn’t even asked you out yet!” Viktor breathed deeply and recalled how excited he felt when his friend finally agreed. She slid off her panties and nervously laid on her back on his twin sized bed. Viktor’s eyes roamed around the contours of her body and fell on the wisps of pubic hair trailing delicately along the cleft of her vagina. He recalled how she’d let him spread her thighs, how he used his hand to gently rub the warmth between her legs, he looked into her eyes as he slipped his middle finger between the lips of her pussy, sliding her clitoris between his middle and ring finger. He pushed his fingers through her labia, spreading them apart, and he used his middle finger to fondle her clitoris, which grew stiff as he flicked it and massaged it lightly. He remembered how pleasing her moans were as he played with her, she was so wet, and he hadn’t even put his finger in yet! He remembered putting his mouth to hers and kissing her deeply and how difficult it was for her to push him off of her. “Sorry!” He looked down as he apologized, she sat up and closed her legs and looked away “It’s fine I just… no kissing, ok?”. He smiled and nodded obediently. He hesitated briefly as he slid his hand back down to her inner thighs, he began rubbing her again and she laid back down and closed her eyes. His cock was throbbing, he wanted to force it inside her. He fought with the urge to undo his pants and start stroking himself with his other hand as he fingered her, as he didn’t dare risk her pushing him away again. Viktor gently slid the entire length of his middle finger through the entrance of her pussy. She moaned deeply as he slid in and out, in and out, his finger slick with the moisture of her. He fingered her for a little less than a minute when she’d complained that she didn’t enjoy the sensation of it, saying that his finger was hurting her. He said some part of her must have liked it, he lifted his fingers to her face so she could see his glistening fingers. He said she would get used to the sensation, but she blushed and pushed his hand away and she pulled her panties back on. Viktor felt a pang of sadness, he missed his friend, but they grew apart after he’d graduated high school. She had moved away to attend an out of state university and he had moved after he was offered a contract with The Family. Viktor was 23 now, no longer a kid, but he never managed to shake off the awkwardness that haunted him as a teen, most of which had developed due to his growing up as a Mexican in a predominantly white neighborhood. Viktor looked back nervously at the path to the shore. No sign of Matt. Viktor wondered how far this new spell would allow him to go. Would Chrysalis come out of the glamor and scream if he started touching her? Would she hate him and curse him and demand that he be thrown in jail? How would he know unless he tried? He looked over at Memoria, who was still sitting at her perch, he then looked at his watch, it was getting late and he thought now would be a perfect time to leave, despite his overwhelming carnal desires. He didn’t want to do anything that he would later regret. He stood up quietly and began walking over to where he left his pack near Memoria’s perch. As Viktor began packing his belongings, loud repetitive caws erupted overhead, Memoria was signaling to him, he had decided to leave just in time, as he did not want to risk an awkward encounter with an aggressive male stranger. Viktor slung his pack over his shoulder and looked over at Chrys, who was still dozing. He walked through the trees in the direction from whence he came, avoiding the path that Matt was sure to take. Viktor was far enough away from the lake path and the trees were dense enough that passing unnoticed was fairly easy for him. Viktor strained to catch a glimpse of Matt. Viktor could see him walking in the direction of the lake’s shore, and he heard him call out, “Hey Chrys! Babe! Want to take a dip in the lake?”<br/>
<br/>
Memoria flew over in Viktor’s direction and perched on his shoulder. As he walked back toward the trail, Viktor passed by Chrys and Matt’s camp again. “You did great, Em. Very good” He rubbed under her chin with his finger. She ruffled her feathers, content with his scratches and she caught his finger in her beak when she had had enough. “I need you to do me a favor, can you fly back to the lake and watch for them. I won’t be long” he asked, looking nervously at the camp and then back to the lake path. Her dark eyes looked at Viktor. It took her a moment to grasp what he was planning, when she did, she dutifully flew over to her previous perch without any push back. Viktor’s heart raced through his chest as he slowly and carefully walked toward Matt and Chrys’s large dark blue tent. The fire pit was smoldering with just a few dying embers amongst the ash. Cleaned pots and pans lay in a neat stack on a small foldable table near the dying fire. A small music player lay under the table next to a heavy looking food stash box and a solar panel. The tent was zippered shut and there were a couple small coolers stacked outside its entrance. A row of expensive hiking boots neatly lined the tent’s perimeter right outside the entrance. Viktor carefully walked over to one of the coolers and opened it, it was filled with ice and a few of the crisp ciders Chrys had offered. Viktor reached in and took one of the cans and slid it into his pack. He closed the lid of the cooler and turned toward the tent. Viktor felt around the circumference of the entrance until he found the tent’s zipper and slowly pulled it upward to open the flap wide enough to peer inside. He saw their sleeping bags, which were both neatly made, a couple over filled packs and a large light colored canvas purse. Viktor reflexively looked toward the path to double check that no one was headed his way. He breathed in deeply and opened the flap wider then stooped inside. He walked over to the canvas bag and knelt beside it and began carefully examining its contents… bug spray, an old compact, pens, lip gloss, and a small item that at first glance he thought was lipstick, but when he inspected it closer, he realized that it was a small vibrator. He saw a cellphone which was locked and had no bars, a small bright colored two-way radio and a long folding wallet. He picked up the wide flat leather wallet and unsnapped it’s fasten. A myriad of receipts, credit cards and expired gift certificates were secured inside it. There was about $200 tucked neatly between the wallet’s center fold, he fingered around the fold and found a small photo wedged in the corner. It was a portrait of Chrys and Matt, they were both smiling, Chrys looked beautiful. Viktor slipped the picture into his pocket and placed the wallet and the rest of its contents back into the purse. He stood up in a crouched posture and exited the tent, taking care to zippen it the way he’d found it. When he was done securing the entrance of the tent, he stretched his arms up and breathed in deep, his heart was beating intensely, but not nearly as rapidly as before, he felt anxious but he was also extremely pleased. Viktor noticed a pressure in his bladder, so he walked over to the dying embers of the campfire and pissed into the smoldering ash of the couple’s campfire. Viktor thought about Matt struggling to build the fire, futilely feeding it crumpled newspaper and tinder or whatever else he could find. Matt’s imagined frustration at the futility of it made Viktor laugh out loud, as he had lit his own fire with a literal snap of his fingers. Viktor had mastered the art of <i>spontaneous ignition</i> at the age of 9. He looked over toward the lake and noticed Memoria was flying over to him. He finished and buttoned himself back up. As she approached him, he extended his forearm to her as a perch. As she landed, she asked “Is your curiosity sated?” He smiled at her and answered “For now, yes” the two of them made their way to the Sylvian Trail to head back to camp.<br/>
<br/>
For dinner, Viktor wanted to surprise Memoria with a meal of escargot. He’d found some garden snails a few days ago near their camp and placed them in a small tin to save for later. He figured tonight would be a perfect night to cook them, as snails were Memoria’s favorite meal and he was very pleased with her. She had done well, leading him to the camp and keeping guard while he and Chrys enjoyed watching the sun set together. Viktor was prepared to forgive Memoria’s secret keeping. Viktor made a small fire of kindling and while it burned down to ash, he gathered up the snails and brought them over to the creek to rinse them. He set up the hot plate near the burning fire and turned the dial to begin heating a small pan “I thought I’d make snails tonight” he said in a loud voice, he wasn’t really sure where Memoria was, but he assumed she was close by. “Snails!” she cawed. She flew down and landed next to him, excitably making low throaty calls in her throat. She seemed to have forgiven Viktor as well. “Hey, Em, could you grab the butter from the red cooler?” Memoria dutifully obeyed, flying over to the cooler and grabbing up the thick slab of butter in her claws and then fluttering back to him. She landed on the small white plastic table that held the hotplate and placed the butter next to it. Viktor gave her a chin scratch and she hopped onto his shoulder. He reached his hand behind him and felt for the button of his fixed blade utility knife holster. He unsnapped the button of the horizontal belt sheath and unsheathed the knife so he could cut a thick portion of butter free from the slab. He plopped the portion into the hot surface of the pan and sheathed his knife. The butter immediately began sizzling and popping under the intense heat, he breathed in to enjoy the sweetness of the smell. After a minute or so the small kindling fire had nearly burned out, so Viktor held his hand to the ashes to test their temperature. The tremendous heat made him pull his hand back quickly. He gingerly placed the snails on the burning ash and walked over to the yurt to grab the foldable chair from his desk, he dragged the chair over to the table to sit down while he cooked. Memoria asked if he’d want bread and he smiled and nodded in affirmation, “That’s a great idea”. She flew over to the tree where the food bundle hung suspended, and she clung to the side of the pack while she unzipped it with her beak. She deftly retrieved the loaf of bread and pushed off of the hanging bundle to fly back toward her Master. Viktor sliced a couple thick pieces and placed them in the pan, and he watched as they soaked up the sizzling butter, turning them as they browned. When the slices of toasted bread were done, he stacked them onto a small plate and plopped another wedge of butter into the pan. He removed the snails from the ash and carefully broke open their delicate shells and then placed their tightly curled bodies one by one into the butter to lightly sauté them. Memoria hopped onto Viktor’s shoulder to get a better view of the sautéing, she was eager for the eating to begin. She pulled at his ear and said “Aren’t you going to add pepper!” Viktor grabbed the small pepper grinder he’d packed and some garlic salt and began seasoning the snails. “Wow, it smells really good! It’s not every day I get treated to snails cooked in butter!”, Memoria hopped from his shoulder onto the table with the plate to get a closer view of the simmering medley. Viktor smiled at her as he walked over to his pack “Well, I’m pleased with how things played out today. I’m happy you told me about Chrysalis”. Viktor turned off the hot plate and slid the buttery, steaming snails into a shallow dish. Memoria hopped from his shoulder and onto the table to take a morsel. Viktor walked over to his pack to grab the cold cider from earlier. He pulled back the thin meatal tab to snap it open. Memoria clasped her morsel in her talons and pulled small pecks of meat from it, and threw her head back to swallow. Then she stared quizzically and tilted her head back and forth in that peculiar avian way, confused at the name Viktor just mentioned. “Chrysalis, that’s… the name of the girl you saw at the falls earlier” he took a deep sip from the can “… the girl I was talking to at the lake” Viktor waited for her to connect the ideas. She cawed loudly and opened her wings “Ah! Of course. The girl. You all were talking at the lake. Was it a pleasant conversation?” Memoria settled down swallowed a few more bites from her snail. Viktor sat down into the chair again. “I’d say so”. He reached to grab a couple snails from the plate and he plopped the slippery morsels into his mouth. They were chewy and earthy, he was happy with Memoria for remembering the pepper. He shifted his weight in his chair and reached into his back pocket pull out the momento from Chrys’s camp, the photo of her and Matt. Viktor sat back in the chair and looked into the eyes of the two in the photo and he drank from the cold can. Chrys and Matt seemed to stare back at him, aware of his presence and happy to be in his company. Both of them were very attractive and held warm smiles on their faces, they looked like they were made for each other. A pang of jealousy pulled at Viktor’s gut. He wondered how Chrys could have settled for such a benign no body. He wondered how Chrys would have reacted to him if he hadn’t used his <i>ace in the hole</i> charm spell on her. Viktor imagined lying next to her and proclaiming his love to her as he kissed her and rubbed her legs. Then his eyebrows knitted in anger as his fantasy warped into Chrys’s non stop hysterical laughter as he made attempts to hold her. He slid the picture back into his pocket and finished the cider as Memoria pulled another snail from the dish.<br/>
<br/>
Viktor and Memoria ate their meal quietly, each content with the way the other had performed today. Memoria was proud of Viktor for not saying or doing anything regrettable at the lake, the encounter could have easily gone south. Viktor’s mind hung on the thought of the woman he had met at the lake, he lingered on every detail that he could recall of her, her smiling eyes looking up at him, the music of her voice, the softness of her hand. After seeing her, Viktor understood why Memoria had thought for a second that the woman was a Nymph. After dinner, Viktor rinsed the dishes in the creek. He thought about visiting Chrys again. He had gotten a lot of surveying and recording done since he’d arrived, another evening off wouldn’t hurt, besides he was here to relax and enjoy himself. He could charm her with the spell again. It had been so easy last time. Then, the thought of encountering Chrys’s mate Matt popped into Viktor’s mind, it was something that Viktor wanted to avoid as best as he could. From the photo, Viktor assumed Matt was a tall tightly muscled athlete. As Viktor finished up the dishes Memoria hopped onto his shoulder for a chin scratch. Viktor abided her. Satisfied, she flew up onto her perch in a tall tree near the yurt to take watch for the night.<br/>
<br/>
Viktor wanted to finish a few chapters of his mystery reread before bed, so he removed his clothes and lit a joint. He grabbed the novel and laid down on the inflatable mattress, and he wrapped his warm knit blanket around his naked body. However, keeping his concentration on the book was exceptionally difficult, after a few pages all Viktor could think about was Chrys’s wonderfully toned skin. He remembered how she’d looked into his eyes and told him that she was enjoying his company, in his mind she took his hand and begged him to stay with her. Viktor took a drag of the joint and held his breath. He laid back on the tiny inflatable mattress and released the cloud of smoke from his lungs, and he stared, enraptured, as it billowed out around him, he was embraced by the warmth of the wool blanket wrapped loosely around his body, and by the heat that pumped steadily from the small electric space heater as it steadily warmed the room. As the smoke rose and dissipated around him, he slipped into a comfort induced haze. In his mind he imagined the door of the yurt opening slowly, and Chrys quietly slipping through the entrance, completely naked. He could see her streamlined body, and she quietly stepped toward him, her slight breasts bobbing lightly as she swayed her ample thighs. He saw her there eager for him. His thoughts lingered on her sensuous curves and her bright, cheerful eyes. He remembered the gossamer thin top she wore and he recalled how her nipples pressed against the sheer material, he wagered she hadn’t expected anyone to interrupt her solitude. Did she notice him examining her body? He wasn’t <i>exactly</i> trying to hide how intensely he was enjoying her with his eyes. Was she embarrassed that he had seen her so scantily clad? Viktor slid his hands under the blanket and took his cock in his hands, which had already begun to stiffen, and he started stroking it deeply. His grip around it tightened and he savored the feeling of his foreskin sliding up and down his swollen glans as he grew fully erect. He closed his eyes again and imagined Chrys grabbing a corner of his blanket and pulling it back and gasping at the sight of his cock. He imagined her climbing on top of him and straddling his hips as he lay on his back, the inflatable mattress stretching under the weight of the two of them. Viktor took another drag of the joint and then leaned over to put it out in the ashtray on the ground next to the mattress, his other hand maintained the rhythmic stroking. He had fantasized about numerous women he’d known before, but most of them didn’t reciprocate his passions. He could count his sexual partners on one hand, and he’d even have a few fingers left over. Viktor sat back and imagined Chrys pressing her lips delicately onto his own and kissing him tenderly as he caressed her round hips. He imagined sliding both his hands down to her ass to knead it firmly, he savored the thought of its suppleness. He could see himself running his hands up her sides and over her breasts, he imagined passionately sucking and kissing them and sliding his teeth gently along her firm nipples, tugging at them lightly. He imagined her moaning as he enjoyed the taste of her. He recalled the softness of her palms when they shook hands today, he could almost feel her again as he imagined Chrys delicately running a hand down his stomach and then between his legs, to take his sack into her hand and then into her mouth. The last girl he was with didn’t enjoy giving him head. One day he asked her if she’d give it a try. She agreed, but afterwards she’d told him that having it in her mouth made her feel like he was suffocating her. He never asked her to do it again. However, he had always enjoyed the sensation, and his stroking grew more rapid as he imagined Chrys taking his cock slowly into her mouth and sucking it passionately. His breathing grew more rapid and he welcomed the vibrant tingling sensation that danced between his legs as he imagined the moisture of her mouth enveloping his erection, he imagined the softness of her lips pressing firmly around the width of his cock, moaning as she savored its firmness. He longed to be with her, and he wondered if the spell he had developed could facilitate that. He thought he could visit her when she was alone, he could try scrying her to get some insights. Viktor relished the thought of actually being with her, he wondered how her pussy tasted and how it felt. His stroking grew slower but stronger as he imagined Chrys getting onto her knees and bending forward, spreading her ass so he could get a good look at her pussy. He lingered on the thought of her anticipation as he slid himself deep inside her, slowly thrusting in and out as she moaned for him keep going. He felt a satisfying tightness around the base of his penis as his sack drew up tighter against it, he could feel a climax nearing, he quickened his stroking and welcomed the orgasm’s warm embrace. He held his breath as he came, the warmth of his cum shooting across his belly. He laid there, stroking hard until the last drop of semen spurted out in small spasms.  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Perception Check</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We finally meet Matt and get his milquetoast view on things. And Memoria irritates Viktor with her take on free will.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Last night had not gone nearly as well as Matt had liked. What he’d <i>hoped</i> would be a romantic evening relaxing by the lake with his new girlfriend Chrysalis, turned out to be a stressful, awkward, hours long <i>slog</i> highlighted by an argument about how “controlling” Chrys thought he was. On the morning of the argument, Chrys had made a morning hike to Cascadia Falls. When she returned to camp, she asked Matt if he wanted to walk to the lake with her to sunbathe. He’d told her he needed to make a call on his satellite phone for work, he kissed her and said he’d join her in a bit. After he’d finished the call, remembered how he walked down to the shore, and when he got there, she looked dazed and appeared to be waking up from a nap. As she came to, she told him she’d met a nice stranger on the beach, and that she and the stranger had talked. She said he sat with her for a while until she dozed off. She described how she and this stranger had been the only two on the long, narrow coast of the lake and this startled her, and she mentioned how afraid she was when this fellow first walked toward her, but then, she said, her fear washed away when they shook hands and he introduced himself and the two conversed. She said she’d wanted to invite this stranger, whose name was <i>Vincent</i>, to have dinner with the two of them that night, but she’d fallen asleep and when she woke up Vincent was gone. Fear welled up in  Matt’s stomach when Chrys first told him this story, and he could sense the frustration in his voice when he asked her why she hadn’t told him about the stranger earlier, Matt told Chrys just how absurd the thought her inviting this <i>Vincent</i> to dinner was “You don’t just invite random guys you just met in the middle of <i>fucking nowhere</i> to dinner, Chrys!” he’d argued, he was a little ashamed of his forwardness as he and Chrys hadn’t been dating for very long, but he felt responsible for her safety while they were on this trip. He told her how careless she had been in falling asleep around <i>someone like that</i>. His face grew red as he lectured her about the dangers of the outdoors and how <i>someone like that</i> would not hesitate to take advantage of a woman as attractive as her. The guy could have been a <i>drifter</i> or a <i>stalker</i>. Chrys refused to acknowledge any folly she’d committed. She argued that Matt wasn’t there so he had no idea of what he was talking about, he hadn’t met <i>Vincent</i>. She said he seemed kind and had a nice face and she began to describe him. As she did, Matt got even angrier, “This guy sounds like a real creep, Chrys!” Chrys, however, wouldn’t budge. She said she refused to engage with such controlling behavior such as his and she gave Matt the silent treatment for the rest of the night. She’d refused to eat with Matt and she said she was going to bed early. When they returned to camp and walked into their tent, Matt was sure he’d noticed a very feint dusty sneaker print pressed into the nylon floor of their tent. Matt thought it was odd because he and Chrys <i>always</i> remembered to take off their shoes before walking inside, Chrys had insisted on it. The sight of the print filled Matt with dread, but he did not bring it up as he didn’t want to anger Chrys further, besides she’d probably just say the sneaker print was his, so Matt rubbed away the dusty print to put the idea out of his mind.<br/><br/>As they were getting ready for bed, he’d told her he’d wanted to visit the falls tomorrow morning and it would be nice if she’d join him. Chrys said she wanted to sleep in and she asked him to try not to wake her when he left. He had difficulty sleeping that night, he tossed and turned and woke up in a sweat, he was overcome with the dreadful thought that Chrys was gone, he looked over next to him and sighed in relief as she lay in her sleeping bag, snoring deeply. He was angry at how naive she was acting, but he also felt an overwhelming sense of shame as he considered the fact that he may be acting so intensely because in her description, Chrys had mentioned that the stranger was Mexican. Matt hadn’t considered himself a racist, but he couldn’t shake the thought of this mysterious… <i>foreign</i> man, taking advantage of his girlfriend. As he laid there in the darkness of the tent, troubling thoughts raced through his mind. He wanted to protect Chrys from this stranger, he wanted to shout in this <i>Vincent’s</i> face and tell him to stay away. Matt breathed deeply to slow the racing of his heart. He thought about how this had been his and Chrys’ first real vacation together, and he didn’t want to ruin it. She had begged him to make the three hour trip to hike and see the falls and mountain during the off season. At first Matt was reluctant, he hadn’t been camping since he was a kid and he’d never made it out to Crater Lake, as it’s trails were more rugged than he was used to. But it was difficult to refuse her, so he caved “OK… sure, I’ll go. But you <i>have</i> to promise you’ll go skinny dipping with me!” As he recalled the memory, he sighed and wished he could go back to that time, <i>before</i> she hated his guts. He laid in the dark tent and shifted to his side and held Chrys from behind. Chrys was good to him and he didn’t want to lose her. He was <i>probably</i> overacting. Vincent was <i>probably</i> harmless. They were <i>probably</i> his own sneaker prints. Matt closed his eyes and fell back to sleep, and tried to put the animosity for this stranger behind him.</p><p>As Matt quietly pulled on his clothes to make the eastern hike to the falls, he regretted how harshly he had yelled at Chrysalis, he hoped she would see his point of view, or at the very least, try to forgive him. Matt was fairly even tempered, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten this upset with someone he’d been dating, but Chrys’ ignorance of the danger she could have been in with this guy frustrated Matt. He pulled a light sweatshirt over his head and stepped out of the tent to put on his boots. He slid them on quietly and stooped down to lace them. As Matt laced his shoes, he looked up at he and Chrys’ boots lined outside the tent’s entrance, and the dusty sneaker print that was pressed into the nylon floor of the tent flashed in his mind. The urge to check the bottom of each pair of shoes overcame him. Matt carefully lifted each set and turned the shoes over to examine each distinct sole pattern. None of them matched the size and shape of the shoe print that had been seared into his mind since yesterday. <i><b>That</b> print was definitely a sneaker print</i>, he thought, and neither he nor Chrys…. He closed his eyes and swore at himself for not taking a picture of the print. He began to reconsider the hike. Maybe he should stay close to camp, if he left and something happened to Chrys, he would <i>never</i> forgive himself. After thinking on it for a moment, Matt concluded some time apart to cool their heads would be good for <i>both</i> of them. He was grateful that he remembered to pack a pair of walkie talkies for the trip so Chrys could contact him if they were apart and she needed him. Matt wrote a note and laid it on his empty pillow next to her, then he slid one of the transceivers into the pocket of his hoodie and set off.<br/><br/>The rays of the rising sun warmed Memoria’s feathers as she lazily stirred from her perch high above the yurt where her master lay sleeping. She stretched out her broad black wings and ruffled her feathers, shaking off the morning dew, which propelled from her and hung around in a cool mist. She scratched her chin with one of her claws as she contemplated going for a quick hunt to invigorate her senses, but she remembered her Master’s late-night request to wake him at sunrise, so she instead opted to glide down to the small door of the yurt. She poked the doggie door, which Viktor had cut into the Yurt’s single entrance, with her beak to climb inside. As Memoria pushed her way inside, she was greeted by the comforting warmth of the yurt. She hopped over to the electric heater and sat in front of it to warm herself and dry her feathers. She looked over at the bed, Viktor was wrapped in a thin white blanket and lying on his stomach snoring lightly with his face pressed into a pillow. Memoria lofted herself in the air and flew toward the bed. She landed on Viktor’s bare shoulders, and she gave him three healthy pecks to the back of the head. After poking at him several times he finally stirred and waved her away. She hopped onto his back as he pulled his face from the pillow and turned his head to speak, he struggled to open his eyes “Why the hell, what time is it?” She remined him of the request he’d made to her last night “You said, ‘Make sure I get up early as fuck. Crack of dawn early’”. Her impression of his voice was annoyingly accurate. As Viktor slowly sat up, his memory began to return to him, so he slid out of bed, he dragged the blanket with him, holding it close to his chest as it draped from his shoulders onto the ground. He walked over to the ash tray to clumsily finger for the roach from last night. Memoria grew curious about the change to his schedule, as he usually woke up in the late afternoon because he always stayed up very late. Viktor retrieved the <i>Quartz Igni</i> from his fannie pack and walked out of the yurt to catch the Igni in a ray of light, “I wanted to perform the scrying ritual to get more info on the girl from yesterday, so I thought the falls would be a good place to do that”. Memoria was excited as she’d been wanting to visit Cascadia Falls and it was great that she and Viktor could go there together. “The Falls are a great place to scry” she cawed, parroting the exact words he used when he was initially planning this camping trip. Viktor held the igni tight in his palm and he welcomed the warmth the crystal collected from the beam of sunlight being cast onto the gem’s reflective facets. Once the crystal was fully warmed, Viktor held his other hand above the it and snapped his fingers which caused a plume of flame to erupt forth, Viktor rose the flame to the spent tip of the joint and inhaled as it turned from black to bright red. Memoria had a slight hesitation regarding the scry, “Master, wouldn’t it make more sense to save the scrying stone and cast an augury instead? You could ask if perusing this woman would bring about desirable results?” Viktor leered at Memoria to silently scold her for second guessing him, he inhaled the thick smoke from the joint and walked back into the yurt, “Probably. But… scrying could provide me with greater <i>insights</i> into her. Besides, an augury will tell me what I already know. Why waste the components?” Memoria hopped close behind him as he entered the warmth of the yurt again. She fluttered up and onto the writing desk and looked up at him as he waved away the flame generated from the igni, and then he placed the quartz back into the fannie pack. “And what exactly do you <i>already know</i>, Master?”, she asked trying to coax the truth from him as gingerly as she could. He let the thin blanket fall to the floor and he stretched his completely naked body up and outward and then down to touch his toes. He walked over to the small writing desk to look into the mirror which stood atop one of his reference books. He stared into the small mirror, eying the puffy bags under his eyes and he took another drag from the joint. He rubbed his hand over his moustache and messy beard, “What I <i>already know</i>, Memoria, is that where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Memoria looked at him as he stood there naked in front of the mirror. She hated when he spoke in vague riddles. Memoria was getting the feeling that Viktor wanted this woman as a mate. Would he stop at nothing to have her? Memoria knew that for most people, persistence toward your goals was admirable, but considering Viktor’s… <i>personality</i> she didn’t like the concept of <i>when there’s a will, there’s a way</i>. She preferred when Viktor kept to himself, as his few forays with women were always brief and they usually left Memoria questioning Viktor’s moral alignment. “What do you want with this woman? Do you… want her as a mate?” Viktor grabbed a pair of dirty cut off khaki shorts and pulled them on, “That… would be nice” he said as he slid on a well-worn light blue t shirt. He walked barefoot outside the yurt toward the table that held the hotplate with Memoria hopping closely behind him. Viktor reached underneath the table and grabbed the electric kettle, and he then plugged it into the solar panel battery. Memoria hopped up onto the table and continued, “But, she has a mate. Do you think she’d be willing to have <i>both</i> of you?” Viktor lifted the kettle to get a good look at the amount of water left over from the last time he used it. Satisfied that there was enough for another cup, he set the heavy kettle back onto it’s platform on the table and switched it on. The absurdity of Memoria’s proposal made him snicker, but he had to admit it wasn’t all bad “Hm, well, I <i>suppose</i> I could ask her but…”. Memoria cawed with excitement at the prospect of Viktor and this woman being happy together, “You could ask! Perhaps she would like another mate! Most female humans prefer more than one!” Viktor walked to the food bag that was suspended in the tree and he retrieved the coffee beans and cream “I... highly doubt she would agree to <i>having both of us</i>, Memoria” Memoria quieted her cawing, “Are you certain? I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask!” Viktor grabbed the grinder and French press and placed them on the table next to the steaming kettle. Memoria had a point, Viktor knew he had zero idea of what this woman could possibly want. He opened the bag of coffee beans and breathed in the aroma. He thought about how Chrys would react if he asked her out, he didn’t know much about her, but he knew he probably wasn’t <i>her type</i>. He wasn’t very many people’s <i>type</i>. He poured some beans into the empty plastic opening of the grinder and held down the button. As the loud whirring mechanisms ground up the beans, he pondered what Chrys could possibly want? Whatever she wanted, Viktor was confident in his ability to please her, if she’d just let him try. How could he get her to give him a try? He exhaled and looked up at Memoria “You’re right. I <i>could</i> ask her if she wanted us both. But I think it would be a waste of time. I don’t think she’d be interested” Viktor could feel Memoria’s sadness for him through the empathic thread between them. “Hm, I didn’t think you’d take it this hard. I thought you preferred me single”, Viktor looked down at her as she sulked on the table beside him. Viktor had a point, she thought. Relationships <i>had</i> always brought out the worst in him. But Memoria also wanted to see him happy “Well, I suppose I just want to see you with someone that makes you happy, is all”. Viktor gave Memoria a smile, “Like I said, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And I <i>think</i> I may have found <i>the way</i>. Memoria looked up excited as Viktor emptied the fresh coffee grounds into the French press. “I’ve… been working on a new spell for the last couple months. A <i>charm spell</i>.” He carefully poured the boiling water from the electric kettle into the French press and he let it steep while he prepared the cream and sugar in a green ceramic mug. Memoria grew concerned, “You’re going to use a charm spell on her to get her to like you?” She watched as Viktor slowly poured cream and sugar into the mug, “Master, I thought we agreed that charms were more trouble than they’re worth. They’re unpredictable and volatile and… ” he interrupted her “Yes, they are certainly those things when you muddy the components!” After he’d filled the mug a quarter of the way, he set down the cream and got his pack which contained the small white tabs. He opened the jar and carefully shook a tab onto his hand to show it to her, laughing nervously he said “See. A perfect distillation. I’ve been working on it in my free time. Between jobs. I kinda kept it a secret from you”. Viktor knew what Memoria would have said if she’d found out he was actually working on learning a charm spell. She’d argue that dealing in mind manipulation was tricky both technically and ethically. Most magic users detested it on some level, often using the moral high ground to condemn mind altering magics. But Viktor saw beyond the flawed logic of those who never dared to <i>try</i>. Memoria stood on the table as Viktor held his hand out to her so she could get a good look at the tab. She recognized the floral scent of essence of aladae right away. She looked up at him, careful of her words, “Most people would <i>object</i> to being subject to a charm spell, Viktor. Especially the woman you are trying to pursue as a mate” Viktor had always thought Memoria’s stance on the issue of charms was surprisingly close minded. “As your familiar, I would advise against this. You’d be in a world of <i>discomfort</i> if the family found out about your… indiscretions”. He looked away from her and placed the tab back into the jar, and he turned from her to watch the French press as the coffee steeped. After a few minutes in silence, he slowly worked the plunger down to filter the grounds from the coffee. Viktor poured the freshly pressed drink into the small green mug and watched as the two liquids swirled and mixed and cooled. Memoria wondered what his limits were, and even if he had any. Suddenly, an idea struck her, “You’ve used one on the girl, already! Haven’t you?” He stepped away from the table and looked at her in defiance “No! No… of course not. I was just, thinking how <i>easy</i> it would be to… do that. If that was something that I <i>actually</i> wanted to do. Which it’s not. Obviously. Because it’s wrong”, he spoke this into his mug and took a deep sip of the coffee to avoid Memoria’s glare. She kept her eye on him as he gulped “…and why exactly is it wrong, Viktor?” He looked at her and he swallowed hard, “FUCK. I dunno, its <i>wrong</i>because some people would rather live in fear of<i>what could be</i>, instead of celebrating what <i>is</i>!” Memoria ruffled her feathers in frustration and cawed “And what is <i>that</i> supposed to mean?”, he put the mug down and barked “It <i>means</i> that if I am capable of doing something, I’m going to do it. I’m not going to hold back and let fear control me! <i>I</i> control fear”. Memoria stood and stared at him, speechless. She’d recalled a time when uncertainty and self doubt controlled his life. Now she was in awe of how emboldened he had become as he gained control and confidence of his skills. She was proud of how far he’d come, but when it came to certain things there can be no muddy waters, “Free will, Viktor! Whether you want to believe it or not, I CHOOSE to serve you. And your mate should CHOOSE to be your mate. You should want a <i>willing</i> participant, not some toy that you pick up whenever you require amusement” Viktor held the cup in both hands and sat in silence for a minute contemplating Memoria’s words. They’d had this conversation at least a dozen times before in some form or another. She knew he was going to do what he wanted, but it was her duty to share her thoughts with him on the matter. He looked away from her and slipped his hands in his pockets, “Sure, I get that. Which… is why I was going to scry her today. To… learn more about her. The other thing was just a … ‘plan b’ you know?” he managed a chuckle, but the frustration emanating from Memoria surged between them through their empathic bond, he was certain that nothing he could say could lift her spirits. Memoria kept the rest of her thoughts to herself and nervously preened her feathers, as she didn’t want to belabor the issue. She was sure that the easiest thing for Viktor would be to just <i>talk</i> to the girl. This would save them the time and the insanely expensive components required to cast the scrying spell. “Well, we should set off soon then” she said, hopping onto Viktor’s shoulder, he attempted to calm her with a soft scratch. Memoria appeased him and leapt from his shoulder onto the low branch of a nearby tree while he prepared for the hike.</p><p>Viktor walked into the yurt and looped a belt through his pants, and he attached the sheath of his bowie knife along the back of the belt. He looked under the small writing desk and grabbed a heavy wooden box which contained an intricately organized cache of material components. Viktor pulled out the components he would need for the scrying spell, which included a thumb sized shard of glass from the mirror of an unbaptized Romani gypsy, a small vial full of an sharp smelling concentrate which when dropped in the eyes, induces reception of the scrying visions, a few sticks of incense, and a vial of papal mustedae, a concoction of his own creation which fused various essences with the eye fluid of a pope. He returned the box to its place under the table and grabbed a small pewter bowl, Viktor slowly turned it in the palm of his hand to examine the intricate filigree engravings along its outside, he would need this as well. He grabbed the shorts he had on yesterday to grab the photo from the pocket. The picture would act as a major component of the scrying ritual. He carefully packed the supplies in a messenger bag along with some food, his journal, a compass, a water bottle, and the plush purple ceremonial blanket. He snapped the canvas hip pack around his waist and placed the components of a few more spells inside, including the vial of white tabs that served as the components for the charm spell. Viktor rolled a fresh joint for the trip and slid it into the fannie pack, he slung the messenger bag around his shoulders and shortened the strap so the bag could fit snug against his back. He walked from the yurt and Memoria hopped onto his shoulder and they set off for Cascadia Falls.</p><p>The hike to the falls was very pleasant. Viktor enjoyed the serenity of the outdoors, despite his rarely getting out to actually experience them. As he briskly walked along the now familiar Sylvian Trail, he hummed aloud, excited at the prospect of scrying Chrys. Viktor had always enjoyed scrying, the spell had allowed him to observe the present actions of any person he could envision in his mind’s eye, even if he and his subject were miles or continents apart. Very few spells offered such personal unobtrusive insights on a person’s private life. Because of the covert aspect of scrying, most of his contracts with The Family were scrying jobs for the rich and powerful. Viktor was one of the few remaining people on the planet that specialized in the spell, and Viktor’s version of the spell was clean, meaning its effects were untraceable and (when done right) it was completely undetectable by the subject once cast. The Family frequently commissioned Viktor to scry people on behalf of Senators, capitalists and major religious figures. Scrying for such excruciatingly corrupt individuals made Viktor feel like a dog on a leash and it was often painfully boring, but… it paid the bills, it paid them extremely well.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Laid Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Viktor and Matt finally meet, and the two don't mince words.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Viktor and Memoria continued northward until they eventually split off onto Crystal Trail, which ran east and was the quickest route to the base of the falls. After about forty minutes of winding eastward through the vast wilds of the park, the two could hear the rushing rapids of Cascadia Falls. Viktor hoped the natural splendor and isolation of the falls would help him to achieve the mental stability and relaxation required for scrying. According to the <i>All About Cascadia Falls</i> brochure he’d taken when he and Memoria visited the ranger’s station, the falls lay on the south fork of the Georgette River and it had three tiers whose combined height totaled 120’ tall. As Viktor and Memoria neared the rocky riverbed of the Georgette River, the roaring of the water grew louder. This section of the Georgette was about 40’ wide, and the path that lead them toward the river placed them about 300’ from the base of the falls. Viktor admired the majesty and natural beauty of the falls and he thought of how pleasing it would have been for him to have spotted Chrys relaxing in these waters yesterday. He was glad he decided to perform the ritual for the scry spell here, the energy he was gathering in himself from being in this place was invigorating, it gave him hope in a future with Chrys. Viktor walked along the riverbank and up toward the frothing base of the falls. He scanned the area which was empty and serine save for him and Memoria crunching along the gravely shore. Memoria leapt from Viktor’s shoulder and flew along the river, flying up toward the top of the falls to do a full check of the area, she returned after a few minutes and led him to a very small and quiet coastal inlet past a bend in the river bank which was mostly clear of shrubbery, had a less rocky and sandy shore, and it was far enough from the base of the falls that he could hear himself over the roar of the rushing river. Memoria landed onto Viktor’s shoulder as they arrived at the inlet and Viktor scratched her chin in gratitude. Viktor laid down his bag and unzipped his fannie pack to pull out the joint and quartz igni. Viktor told Memoria that if she was planning on doing any exploring, she should do it now as he was planning on setting up for the ritual shortly after a lunch break. She told him she would meet back up with him in 40 minutes and with a few beats of her wings, Memoria lifted into the bright clear sky to explore the falls.<br/><br/>Viktor lit the joint and took a drag while he leisurely chewed on the chicken sandwich that he’d packed for the trip. He was sitting slouched and crossed legged on a large flat stone that lay close to the shore of the river near the mouth of the inlet, so he could enjoy the full splendor of the falls. The droning of the water soothed him, and he reached in his back pocket to get another look at the photo he had of Matt and Chrys. Viktor took another healthy bite from the sandwich as he looked into the welcoming eyes of Chrys’ impression on the glossy paper. She was his in his thoughts, and he was confident he would find a way to make her his in actuality. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to enjoy the distant music of bird song. Viktor took in the cool spring air deeply and, after a moment or two he thought he could hear a faint voice, muffled by the distant roaring of the river. It sounded like someone yelling at him, trying to get his attention. He opened his eyes and scanned the area; and his stomach dropped when he noticed a man walking directly toward the inlet along the bend in the rocky shoreline. Viktor sat there frozen and thinking of what to do as the figure approached him. The person, after seeing Viktor had noticed him, began waving broadly, the figure appeared to be a tall, broad shouldered man, and he was wearing a light colored pullover sweatshirt and salmon colored shorts. Viktor couldn’t imagine that he knew this person… what did he want and why was he now waving at him? Viktor slid the photo into his back pocket and stuffed the last bit of the sandwich into his mouth and he stood up, wiping his chicken and mustard stained hands onto his dirty shorts. As Viktor put out the joint he’d been smoking, he decided he would abandon this spot for a more private location. Viktor hopped from the rock he was standing on and muttered angrily to himself as he walked back to the inlet to grab his backpack. This was all terribly inconvenient for him, he’d grown to like his tucked away little cove and now he and Memoria would have to find a new one. Viktor hurriedly walked over to his pack and sifted through it to grab the map of the falls. After a moment of sifting, he found the map and pulled it out, then he slung the bag over his shoulder. The rocks crunching under the intruder’s feet grew louder as he closed in and, just as Viktor was turning to walk deeper into the forest away from the river bank, Viktor heard “Hey! Sorry if I disturbed you… I just wanted to say hi! How’s it going?” Viktor turned toward the entrance of the inlet and saw the man standing near the rock he’d been eating on, and Viktor’s heart nearly lept from his chest when he saw it was Matt, and he was walking toward him.</p><p>Viktor’s eyes dashed up to scan the sky for Memoria. When he didn’t find her, he steeled himself and started walking toward Matt, who was flashing Viktor the same smile from the photo in his pocket. For most other people, the man’s smile would have been welcoming and genuine, but Viktor became uneasy and his heart started racing. Viktor nervously adjusted the strap of the pack and struggled to reciprocate Matt’s smile with his own. Matt moved toward Viktor and in a friendly voice greeted him, “Hi there! I was hiking along the riverbank and I saw you! Thought I’d come over to say hi! I haven’t seen anyone in the park since I got here a few days ago! My name’s Matthew”, his voice was energetic and friendly, the two stopped about 6 feet away from each other. Viktor’s mouth and throat grew dry as he swallowed the last bit of sandwich. Viktor stared unblinkingly up at Matt, who was now extending out his hand to offer Viktor a handshake. Viktor looked up at the man in front of him, he figured Matt had to be over 6’ tall. He was well built and as handsome as the photo made him out to be, he could have easily been a project manager of a very successful business, or maybe even some sort of extremely successful tech god. The banality of both prospects made Viktor’s stomach turn. Matt’s smile waned as Viktor nervously wiped his hand on his pants and then tightly crossed his arms, Viktor cleared his throat and made eye contact as he managed a “Hi, how’s it going?” Viktor averted eye contact with Matt, who lowered his hand after realizing Viktor wasn’t interested in a handshake. After a few seconds of awkward silence passed Matt flashed Viktor another smile “Beautiful day, isn’t it? The wind’s a little cool, but the falls alone are definitely worth the trip out to the park!” Matt punctuated the sentence with a bright, self-conscious laugh. Viktor took a second to compose himself, cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, I’d say so”. Matt smiled, satisfied with Viktor’s answer and turned around to admire the scenery. Viktor made one last mindless adjustment to the straps of the bag he was carrying, looked at Matt and muttered “Well, I should probably…” Matt cut him off, “Hey! You’re <i>Vincent</i>, aren’t you?” Viktor raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, uncrossed his arms and slid his hands into his pockets. Viktor forced a smile and chuckled nervously, “oh… does my reputation proceeds me?” Matt countered Viktor’s laughter with his own gaffaw, and he put his hands on his hips “My girlfriend Chrysalis was telling me about you!” Viktor’s eyes lit up when Matt mentioned <i>her</i> name. His confidence began to swell as he relished the thought of Chrys speaking about him to other people, even if it was only with this <i>moron</i>. Viktor looked away as he pretended to be searching his mind for the memories of yesterday. He looked up at Matt and ejected, a little too enthusiastically, “Ah! Yeah… ok. Yeah, I remember her! <i>Chrysalis</i>.” Viktor flashed a broad quick smile and put his hands on his hips, matching Matt’s body language, “Hopefully <i>your girlfriend</i> had nothing but good things to say about me!” Viktor attempted a friendly laugh, but it came out nasally and slightly high pitched. Matt’s demeanor shifted slightly, his face grew a little more serious, and concerned “Actually dude, if I’m being honest, the entire encounter left Chrys pretty…. shaken”. Viktor lifted an eyebrow in confusion. “Yeah, she told me about how frightened she was after she met you”. This made Viktor let out a short awkward laugh “Heh, really?”, he maintained the smile on his face, and Viktor looked directly into Matt’s eyes and said, “Thats… not exactly how <i>I</i> remember it.” Matt crossed his arms, his mask of friendliness slipping “How <i>do</i> you remember it, bud?” Viktor looked down again and shrugged his shoulders and shook his head lightly in an attempt to shake what Matt just said out of his mind “I dunno. I guess I remember… talking to her. She seemed friendly enough. Yeah, we talked for a little bit, joked a little. She…. said she enjoyed being with me, and talking to me” this last bit made Viktor smile broadly. He continued, “I read a little, we just hung out. Nothing crazy.” Viktor slid his hands in his pockets and looked at Matt and said “I uh… I <i>do</i> also remember her being very…attractive” Matt maintained eye contact with Viktor as he absorbed the man’s words and determined their threat level, blinking and looking away Matt said, “No worries dude. It’s not a biggie. Those kinda situations are hard to gauge, seriously man, I get em wrong all the time. What you <i>think</i> is someone having a great time is really just that person being nice so they don’t hurt the other person’s feelings” Matt let out a short, awkward laugh and shifted his weight to his other leg. Viktor noticed a hesitance in Matt’s voice, like he himself was afraid to be rude or hurt Viktor’s feelings. Viktor scoffed audibly, Matt continued, “Like I said not a big deal. At all. Seriously, dude. I don’t want you to worry about it” Viktor looked away briefly to decipher Matt’s intentions. Was Matt telling the truth? Had Chrys actually been <i>afraid</i> of him? Had the spell not worked? Was Chrys just being nice to get him to leave?  After a second or two Viktor looked up at Matt with a bemused expression, “So… you’re saying Chrys was being nice to me yesterday to... <i>get rid of me</i>?” Viktor punctuated the last bit by raising an eyebrow. Matt lifted both his brows and held his hands out to Viktor in a reassuring posture “No no. Not at all. I’m… I’m just saying she was spooked is all. You know how <i>ladies</i> can be!” Matt joked, trying to appeal to Viktor’s misogyny. “This is our first camping trip out to Crater Mountain and the falls and everything, and she’s…. well she’s never really been camping before and, we both figured the park would be pretty empty this time of year. So, you just spooked her is all. The night you guys spoke she’d told me what happened, she said she’d seen a stranger at the lake and man, well…<i>you</i>… had frightened her. She thought you were going to hurt her <i> or something</i>. She tried to convince me to pack our things so we could move camp, but I told her she was being silly.” Matt flashed another broad smile as he stood there extremely satisfied with his response. Viktor continued to look up at this giant in front of him, he digested Matt’s words in his mind. Viktor narrowed his eyes and allowed an awkward silence to pass between them before he finally said “OK. Sure. Why are you telling me this, <i>Matt</i>?” Annoyance peppered Viktor’s words. Matt was taken back by the stranger’s forwardness “Well, I wanted to ask if you could do me a solid and try to keep a little bit of distance between our camp and… yourself. No offense to you! I just… you know… want to keep the old lady off my back!”, as Matt laughed at his own Joke, Viktor stared in disbelief at him. Matt cleared his throat to distract from the awkwardness. Viktor scoffed again, shook his head and looked away, he couldn’t believe what this man was saying. Matt continued, “Like I said dude, absolutely no disrespect to you. You seem like an ok guy. Seriously. I just…”-- “Did you fucking follow me here?” Matt was floored by Viktor’s sharp accusation. All Matt could do was muster a scathing “What?” Viktor looked up at Matt and maintained eye contact, it was all coming together now “You fucking followed me here didn’t you? You saw me talking to your girlfriend and you followed me here so you could… spread all your pathetic lies about what you <i>imagined</i> happened between me and Chrys!” Viktor’s tone was rising “That’s all your accusations are, manifestations of your imagined hostilities between me and <i>her</i>. So, you come up here with your <i>lies</i>, trying to drive a wedge between us!” Matt knitted his eyebrows and pulled back one of the corners of his mouth in a dismissive glare, the fact that this stranger was referring to his girlfriend in such a familiar tone disturbed him greatly “Bro, calm down! I didn’t follow you <i>anywhere</i>! I just… saw you sitting there from down the shore” he turned and pointed back toward the direction he came “and I thought you had to be the guy Chrys was talking about since you…<i> fit the description</i>. So, I decided to come over.”<i> So now it comes out</i> Viktor thought, staring up defiantly. Matt had spotted him from down the river and had made up the story of wanting to come over “<i>just to say hi</i>” as a cover so he could demand that Viktor stay away from Chrys. Sensing that Viktor was piecing his strategy together, Matt expanded “I’m actually sorta glad we happened across each other. The whole ordeal has been really bothering me. I was hoping I’d catch you at the lake when she wasn’t around, but talking like this is way better. I uh… I’m glad we could discuss this civilly” Matt looked down at Viktor’s shoes, his eyes lingered on them, inspecting them, they were sneakers, Matt’s heart skipped a beat. Viktor grew anxious at Matt’s glaring and he sought to end the conversation “I can’t fucking believe this. Whatever, I’m leaving before I do something stupid.” Viktor angrily walked past Matt so he could leave the inlet to walk back to the shore, he wanted to get as far away from this liar as he could. Viktor’s fury was bubbling over and he feared he wouldn’t be able to control himself if something <i>bad happened</i>. As Viktor walked toward the shore, Matt turned to follow closely behind. Suddenly, Viktor felt a sharp yank at the back of his shorts, he let out a “What the fuck” and snapped around. Viktor’s stomach dropped when he saw Matt standing there holding the photo of him and Chrys.</p><p>Viktor stood wide eyed as Matt thumbed the photo. Viktor cursed himself, the picture must have been sticking out of his back pocket. Matt couldn’t believe that this <i>stranger</i> had a picture of him and his girlfriend. <i>How did he get this? Why does he have it?</i> Matt’s mind raced with possible answers as he looked into the eyes of two people in the photo. Matt remembered how hard it was to get Chrys to take the trip with him to the mall to get the picture taken. She’d giggled at the idea of taking a professional photo with a guy she’d known for less than a week, he remembered her laughing and saying “Oh, scandalous. What will the neighbors think?” Matt felt a simmering rage well up inside him, coupled with a sense of deep satisfaction. He <i>wasn’t</i> crazy. This psychopath <i>had</i> been in their tent, rummaging through their things like a desperate stalker. Matt clenched his jaw tight as he looked from the picture over to this complete<i>stranger</i>. Viktor’s eyes darted down to the photo, then back up at Matt and then off to the side and back at Matt again. Matt could see him working out some pathetic lie in his fucked up little head, and he fought back every urge to punch this <i>Vincent</i> square in the nose. Matt held the photo delicately in his thumb and index finger and asked “Why… the fuck… do you have this?” Viktor was incredibly embarrassed. A multitude of excuses popped into his head, he desperately searched for one that seemed plausible. He put one hand on his hip and gestured toward the photo with the other “Chrys… your girlfriend was using it as a bookmark. She’d, it must have slipped out from, from her, the book she was reading” Viktor swallowed hard, he wasn’t sure if Matt could notice his blushing under the brown of his skin. Viktor’s confidence was imploding, he loathed the thought of this jerk off thinking he could push him around, but Viktor did not want him to know that he’d been going through Chrys’ belongings. Matt slid the photo into his own pocket and took a few steps forward to close the distance between the two of them, he stopped just a foot away from Viktor’s face to make the height difference between them apparent. Viktor’s heart raced and he averted his eyes as Matt drew nearer, he was certain that Matt would pulverize him if they ended up fighting. Viktor hadn’t been in a fight in years. He had always been able to hold his ground during scrapes in middle and high school, but not without getting his ass handed to him. He considered how numerous the school fights had been. In grade school he was teased on an almost constant basis by guys and girls alike, they’d laughed at him and called him slurs like <i>chink</i> and <i>nigger</i>. Viktor had been subject to so many racist Mexican jokes that he thought he’d be immune to their effects by now. Viktor was, however, acutely aware of Matt’s implications when he said Viktor had <i>fit the description</i>, Viktor continued, “Yeah… she dropped it. The photo, and I was meaning to give it back to her.” Viktor looked up at Matt and shrugged his shoulders dismissively, daring him to challenge his story, “How else would I have gotten it?”</p><p>Matt scoffed. <i> She dropped it and he was meaning to give it back </i>. Fucking bullshit. Matt looked down at Viktor and stated the obvious “I don’t know dude, <i>maybe</i> you got it by sneaking into our tent and swiping it from my girlfriend’s wallet” The rush of embarrassment gripped Viktor and intensified but he stood his ground, “And just why the <i>fuck</i> would I do that?” He looked up at Matt and smirked, he was starting to enjoy this game. Matt maintained his icy glare. <i>Who does this guy think he is? Did he honestly think he stood a chance with Chrys? </i> Matt looked down at Viktor and he suddenly felt sorry for the guy, he was obviously lonely and delusional. Chrys was undoubtedly a ten, miles out of this guy’s league. Matt figured the only thing he could do to help this <i>loser</i> was to be frank, “Maybe because you saw a pretty girl and in your sad little mind you thought ‘hmm, I wonder what her panties smell like’ so you rifled through our shit when we weren’t around, desperately searching for a pair of her underwear that you could masturbate to while you cried yourself to sleep!” Matt was surprised at how mean he sounded, but he had to tackle this head on. Viktor gathered up a sizable wad of phlegm in his throat, and spat just inches away from Matt in an act of pure defiance, Viktor narrowed his eyes and barked “Fuck you, you limp dick cracker!” Matt was disgusted, he had never met anyone so incredibly coarse. Matt’s body grew tense and rigid as he balled both his fists up tightly against his sides and battled with his urge to strike. Viktor kept going “Yeah, you. You think I’m fucking pathetic? You’re the fucking sad one, you banal, <i>basic</i> piece of bland fucking white brea-!” Before Viktor could finish the sentence, he was taken by surprise by the sudden pain of Matt’s fist bashing into the bridge of his nose. Viktor stumbled back, his head reeling from the impact. Matt immediately regretted hitting him, but the feeling was also extremely satisfying. Hopefully the little <i>prick</i> would keep his mouth shut. Viktor bent forward, holding his nose in his hands “FAHK!” he screamed, his exclamation echoed out into the vast wilderness. Viktor pinched the bridge of his nose gently to see if it was broken. Matt wanted to end this, “Just fucking stay away from me and my girlfriend, ok? Don’t make this harder than it has to be, you fucking <i>creep</i>”. Viktor stood up and reared back his right fist and took a jab at Matt, who quickly moved out of the path of the swing. Matt pushed Viktor back, and growled in annoyance at Viktor’s decision against a peaceful compromise. Viktor caught his balance only to take another more powerful jab to the nose again. Viktor made a glutaral OMF sound as the blow connected, the pain from the blunt force radiated from the point of contact. The force caused Viktor to stumble backward again, he tripped over a small stone and fell to the ground onto his ass. Viktor let out an audible gasp when his nose started oozing blood like a fountain. A rush overcame him and he scrambled to his feet and lunged at Matt, each furiously grabbed the other as they fell back with a THUD onto the rocky beach. Viktor climbed on top of Matt, clenched his heavily ringed fist as tight as he could and drove it into Matt’s face over and over, each impact punctuated by a heavy THUD and Viktor’s bestial screams. Matt tried pushing his attacker off of him, but he grew more disoriented with each savage blow to the head. Finally, Matt was able to time one of the punches so he could roll to the side just in time, this caused Viktor to miss Matt’s face and punch into a flat stone. Viktor screamed in agony as he held his hand between his legs and rolled onto his back. Matt scrambled to his feet, reeled back and drove his foot into Viktor’s stomach “Stay the FUCK down you fucking PSYCHO!” Viktor cursed and grabbed his stomach and fumbled to unfasten his bowie knife from his belt sheath. Matt reared back to land another kick, but Viktor roll dodged and clumsily climbed to his feet, unsheathing the knife as he stood. Viktor tightly gripped the wooden handle of the long curved knife and he pointed it steadily in Matt’s direction. Matt’s eyes froze onto the glinting blade. What had he gotten himself into? Silence hung in the air, Viktor’s eyes were wild with anger, his shoulder length dark wavy hair was disheveled and hung down over half of his face like a thick brown curtain, blood was trailing from his nose and staining his shirt. The two stood about 5 feet apart, both of them tired and panting heavily from the ferocity of their fighting. Matt thought about reaching for his own small retractable blade that he always carried with him, but he was terrified to move, and besides, could he even use it on a person? Matt swallowed hard and tried to catch his breath, “Please, Vincent… This, this isn’t going the way I’d hoped” Viktor’s sudden high pitched laughter unsettled Matt, “You fucking <i>think</i>, white bread?” Matt pleaded “How about you just put the knife away and calm down. We can talk about this!” Viktor was startled by the brash ignorance of Matt’s statement. He trained the tip of the knife at Matt’s face and narrowed his eyes “So… you think you can intrude on my serenity, accuse me of something I did not do, LIE, ASSULT ME and then expect me to <i>calm down</i>?” Viktor tightened his jaw “You must not think much of me do you, Matt”. Matt was terrified. The situation was draining him, but his opponent seemed reinvigorated by the reservoir of rage that bubbled inside him. Viktor placed his thumb and forefinger against his tongue and released a quick loud whistle which echoed across the river, he quickly scanned the skies again, <i>where was she?</i> When Viktor turned his attention back to Matt, he was reaching into his pocket for something. Viktor took a couple steps toward him and bashed the butt of the knife into Matt’s face as hard as he could, causing him to cry out in pain. Viktor plunged his hand into Matt’s pocket and pulled out the retractable knife. A strong surge of satisfaction overcame Viktor as he realized he was gaining the upper hand. Viktor dangled the pocket knife in front of Matt’s face and he whispered “Looking for this?” Viktor pocketed Matt’s knife and stepped back. Matt eyed Viktor closely. <i>What was he planning?</i> Viktor looked around the mouth of the small inlet where they were standing, and his attention fell to a tall healthy tree that stood close to the forest line. He pointed the knife toward it “Walk”.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Power Hungry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After taking care of Matt, Viktor attempts to process the trauma of their encounter. Memoria discovers what has happened and lays her feelings out on the table to make Viktor see reason. Unraveled from overwhelming stress, Viktor decides to pay Chrys one last visit in the hopes that seeing her again will sooth him back to reality...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>--WARNING--<br/>This chapter is extremely sexually graphic and it contains an explicit rape scene. </p><p>-NOTE-<br/>This may or may not be the last chapter. I may write an epilogue for this at some point.</p><p>ALSO, I've been working on an illustration for this chapter. Hopefully I will finish it this century. LOL</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Matt looked over to where Viktor was pointing and then back at Viktor skeptically “Why? What the fu-” Viktor pushed Matt toward the tree with his free hand “Fucking WALK”. Matt dutifully walked forward as his bravery and confidence from earlier twisted into fear. <i>This fucker is going to kill me! And then he’s going to kill Chrys!</i> Matt cursed himself for confronting this guy, his own bravado was going to be the death of him. When they approached the tree, Viktor kept the tip of the blade trained onto Matt as he slung the messenger bag from his back and pulled out the long purple blanket “On your knees, <i>Fucktard</i>.” Matt hesitated and tried to give Viktor one last vicious stare. Viktor jabbed the slender blade of the knife tightly against Matt’s throat “NOW!” Matt obeyed, slowly lowering one knee to the ground and then the other. Matt knew he had to rush him. There was no other choice! Matt tried desperately to summon the courage to stand up and kick the knife from Viktor’s hands, but none came. All Matt could do was wait patiently on his knees, shaking like a yearling fawn. Viktor unfurled the blanket and sliced into it, he tugged hard as he pulled free a long narrow strip of blanket, and then another. Matt mustered the courage to speak “Are you… going to kill me? Please…” the words caught in his throat, his eyes began to well up. Viktor looked over at him as he began to wind the long strip of fabric around his hand, the fear in Matt’s eyes fueled his own confidence “Is that what you want, Matt? You want me to put you out of your misery? Is your cowardice<i> that</i> unbearable?” Viktor chuckled as Matt fought back tears, he pleaded “Please, Vincent. Don’t do this. Just… just let me go. My girlfriend and I will leave and I’ll never fucking talk to anyone about this <i>ever</i>. I have money. And a very expensive camera you can have… Please. Don’t hurt me, god, <i>please don’t hurt Chrys…</i>” The man’s begging was gratifying but it ignited a new rage in him. Where was Matt’s call for sympathy when he was punching Viktor in the face? Where was he when he was accusing Viktor of being a pervert? And when he was <i>lying</i> about his time with Chrys? Matt had no desire for sympathy then. Viktor held firm in his conviction. “I’m not going to kill you. Unless you try something cute. Just fucking do what I say, and you’ll live. Put your arms around the tree.” Matt obeyed. The tree was wide enough that his arms could wrap around it and his wrists could touch. Viktor held the blade of the knife in his teeth as he began to tightly wrap the strips from the blanket to bind Matt’s hands and wrists. Viktor tore off another piece from the blanket and wrapped it tight across Matt’s mouth as a gag. Viktor sheathed the knife and stood back to admire his handy work. He turned and looked up at the afternoon sky. Where was Memoria? He walked a little ways toward the shore of the river and spotted her flying toward him from the direction of the falls. He rolled the remains of the blanket up tightly and put it back into his bag, and then he slung the bag back onto his back, then he remembered he was forgetting something. He walked back over to Matt, who’s eyes were displaying a mixture of fear and anger. Viktor stooped down and shoved his hand into Matt’s back pocket to pull out the photo. Viktor dangled it in front of the bound man’s face and growled “Mine”.  Viktor stood up and slipped the photo into his back pocket again, and he walked toward the shore and extended his arm out to Memoria as a perch.</p><p>As Memoria approached the scene a wave of fear washed over her. Viktor was bleeding and he looked like he had a broken nose. His eyes were puffy and parts of his face was bruised. Once Memoria saw Matt, the scene began to unfold in her mind, and the severity of the situation creeped in. As Memoria landed on Viktor’s arm she could feel his rage as it passed through the empathic link that they shared. The emotional thread between them was red hot and tight and it wrapped around her mind and ensnared her body. Memoria remained quiet. She didn’t like talking in front of people who weren’t Viktor and the fact that she could feel the Thread so vividly meant that Viktor was incredibly emotional right now. “We’re leaving” he said in a low voice, he walked steadily out toward the shore, the sound of the rushing river returned as they left the scene. Viktor knew Memoria would bombard him with questions, but he really did not want to get into it. Viktor walked down the river bank back toward the trail, and the energy began draining from his body. He hated Matt for making him so angry, for forcing him to act like an animal. As they walked away from the river bank and turned onto Fox Trail which took them back into the woods, a flood of emotions washed over him. He panted as he stalked through the dense trees wondering if things could have turned out differently, if they <i>should</i> have turned out differently. Viktor didn’t regret hitting Matt, in fact he had enjoyed it a great deal. Viktor was very happy that he was able to overcome his initial fear of the confrontation, he smiled and chuckled aloud and he thought about how he was able to control the situation to subdue Matt. His victory was short lived however as he began to wonder what Memoria was thinking. Would <i>she</i> consider this a victory? Or would she scold him and insist that he should have avoided the confrontation all together, and he should have just walked away? When Memoria’s silence became unbearable, Viktor finally barked “He attacked <i>me!</i>” Viktor’s voice was wavering from the emotion of the situation, but his conviction held steady “He fucking jumped me <i>FIRST</i>, Em. I swear!” Memoria stood silent on Viktor’s shoulder stunned as the dappled rays from the bright afternoon sun broke through the canopy of the tall trees and moved over them both. “You believe me, don’t you?” The emotional thread between them was overwhelming. She was literally feeling Viktor’s emotions as her own, it was all consuming. The growing tension in her own small frail body caused her to shake, she felt like she could feel every feather on her body as they puffed up and flaired, “How badly are you hurt?” she asked, trying to calm both herself and her master. Viktor rubbed his head and stomach where he received most of the blows “Pretty fucking bad. But I’ll live” finally, when Memoria couldn’t stand his emotions flooding into her she pleaded to him, “Viktor, you must calm yourself. Please.” A sharp bitter laugh erupted from Viktor “Don’t you think I’m trying to fucking do that?” Memoria continued “No, you aren’t. Stop walking and just breath for a second” Viktor ignored her, muttering something harsh in Triques, his native language, under his breath. The pair continued down the trail in silence. Memoria was extremely relieved that Viktor was <i>physically</i> ok, his safety was her chief concern. If Viktor died, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to move past it, and she was confident that he felt the same for her. They both shared a shard of the same <i>Arcane Essence</i>; it was the thread that bound them together, the thing that had awoken her to consciousness and the thing that allowed him to control magic, however, this Arcane Essence also allowed them to share each other’s feelings. It’s why she cut her exploring short to go check on him, she could feel what he was feeling even across the vast distance between them. Memoria cherished this bond, but she also loathed it as it drained her when Viktor let these situations arise. Situations where he couldn’t keep his anger in check. She remembered the days before she knew Viktor, she was free and could fly anywhere she felt. It was a time before Viktor’s constant demands and his flagrant arrogance. The anger that she was feeling from him radiated throughout her body, it pulsed and cloyed at her mind. Memoria wanted to leap from him and fly away as far as she could. He was obsessed and delusional and his obsessive delusions were going to drive them both to madness, she thought. As the pair neared the Sylvian Trail intersection Memoria braced herself emotionally and hopped from his shoulder and she flew 50’ up to perch on the branch of a tall tree. As the space between them grew, she felt like someone finally opened the window of a small room that was being pumped with burning hot black smoke. The emotional connection between them lessened as she put a bit of distance between them, she could breathe again. She looked down at him as he looked up at her, he was surprised and confused, “Em, what the fuck? What’s going on?” he asked sharply. Memoria focused to slow her rapid breathing as Viktor craned his neck toward the tops of the trees to look at her. He stepped back so he could see her better and in a loud voice he tried to coax her from her perch, “I’m sorry, I spoke to you like that, Em. I’m so sorry, I won’t do it again. I… I’m just confused right now.” Memoria began to feel <i>fear</i>  and <i>worry</i> slowly twisting their way through their thread, the bile wrenching fear Viktor was feeling of losing her. “Viktor… I… what HAPPENED back there? I don’t think you’re telling me everything.” Viktor look down and shut his eyes tightly, whatever satisfaction he had gained from being able to control the situation with Matt was slipping from his grasp. The satisfaction was becoming tainted with intense frustration at Memoria. Viktor thought for a moment. He did not want to say the wrong thing, the last thing he wanted was for her to leave him. He needed her now more than ever, but she also needed to understand his side. Viktor composed himself and in a low calming voice said “Sure… I’ll tell you everything. Just… come down so we can talk?...please, Em?” It hurt Memoria a great deal to see him so angry and so terrified, it had been a long time since she felt him this mad, the sensation of it was unbearable. “I swear I’ll calm down” Viktor encouraged in a low soothing voice. Memoria waited for a moment and then cautiously hopped onto a slightly lower branch, she paused for a moment to watch him, idly pecking at a loose piece of bark to stall for time as she observed Viktor’s nervous glances from her to the path, presumably to watch for Matt, and back to her again. “I’m calming down. See?” He ran his hand through his hair to pull it neatly from his face, then he extended his forearm out to her. As she lowered herself hopping from one branch to another, she felt the threads of his emotions tighten around her again. When she got to a point when they were about 30’ apart she stopped “This is about all I can bear”. She could feel his fear of losing her subside, but it swirled in the background like ambient noise.  “Look… Em. I’m sorry you had to fucking see that. I’m sorry” he looked down at the ground and wiped his hand across his mouth to remove some of the drying blood, and he managed a chuckle “Not my finest hour”. Memoria got straight to the point, “Do you want to tell me what happened?” As Viktor’s mind wandered back to the traumatic events, he maintained focus on the trail. He really didn’t think they had time to chit chat, but if it was the only way she’d come down, he’d oblige her, “I… was sitting there eating my sandwich and this guy… Matt, came running over, he was… I dunno, at <i>first</i> he was acting like he didn’t know who I was, but then he said he recognized me because I <i>had</i> to be the guy Chrys was talking about because… you know. Mexican” She interrupted him “He… said he knew you were talking to the girl because… you’re Mexican?” “Yeah! The ONLY Mexican dude out here!” Memoria cut in “—but” Viktor stopped her, “Yeah… fucking crazy. And <i>then</i> he … haha… he fucking told me I scared the shit out of Chrys and he fucking demanded that I stay away from their camp!” Viktor’s voice grew louder as he relived the experience, and his eyes left the trail to scrutinize Memoria as she processed the new information. Memoria waited for him to calm down before she asked “Well, <i>did</i> you scare her?” Viktor put his hands on his hips and looked down, his jaw tightened as he held in what he <i>wanted</i> to say. He took in a few breaths and sighed “I would say, no I did <i>not</i> frighten her.” Silence fell between them, then Viktor continued, “…And <i>then</i> he fucking grabbed me and pulled the fucking photo from my pocket! And he told me I was a fucking pervert who just wanted his girlfriend’s panties so I can go home and cry or whatever and then he fucking PUNCHED me! And… I punched him back!” Memoria thought back to yesterday and recalled that Viktor <i>did</i> have a photo. Was this the photo that got him into trouble? “Is that why you wanted me to watch the two humans when we were at the lake yesterday? So you could rifle through their things and take that photo?” Viktor cringed at the word “rifle” but he didn’t want to stress the issue, “Yes, that was why I asked you to watch them”. Memoria was surprised but not shocked, this sort of behavior was not out of the ordinary for him, she loathed him for making her play a part in his schemes. Viktor’s voice was pleading “I only took the photo! I swear! I wanted <i>something</i> to remember her by. A momento.” His anger stirred again “Do you even really care? You take things from humans all the time! You took that ring didn’t you!” He didn’t want to upset her again, but she was being absurd. “I didn’t steal that ring, I found it! When we were at the Ranger’s Station. When you were looking through those pamphlets!” Memoria was speechless. Had he actually just compared her finding a ring to him intruding onto someone’s private camp, going through their personal belongings and stealing from them? Suddenly, a new thought took hold of her “Viktor, what… was that spell that you were talking about yesterday? Your ‘<i>ace in the hole</i>’?” Viktor’s anger turned to fear and he grew silent, afraid of what she would think if he told her. She had to already know what spell it was, or at least have some <i>inkling</i> of what he’d been working on in his free time for all these months. Viktor flashed her a “oh come on, really?” look. She ignored his baiting and waited for him to continue. He flipped his fear back to anger at Memoria’s supposed ignorance of the entire situation “It was a charm spell. I know I’m technically not supposed to cast them, but I have to know how these sortof spells react in actual people <i>actually</i>, not just thoracically! It’s my job to know-” She interrupted him “And… you used the charm spell on the woman. On Chrys. Which… is why she was so friendly with you yesterday”. Viktor loathed this <i>debasement</i> of his and Chrys’s interaction, “Yes, the spell <i>facilitated</i> her … positive reaction toward me. But does the <i> why</i> she was friendly with me, even matter? If a guy has a <i>nice fucking job</i>  and a <i>nice smiley attitude</i>, why is it OK for him to charm a girl <i>that</i> way, but the moment someone uses a spell, a <i>technique</i> that they’ve been studying for months, to sway someone’s attitude, than that person is a villain!” Memoria stayed silent on her perch as she watched Viktor pace angrily back and forth desperately trying to maintain his composure. Viktor stopped his pacing and glared tight jawed up at Memoria, “We were enjoying each other’s company, Em, that’s all that matters! Matt couldn’t stand the fact that his girlfriend was talking to some rando fucking guy and he attacked me. <i>He</i> was the one that was terrified. HE was projecting his own fears onto Chrys! She <i>enjoyed</i> hanging out with me! She said it herself! She was <i>not</i> scared!” Memoria had had enough and she broke her silence “She wasn’t scared because you didn’t give her the OPTION to be scared, Viktor!” Memoria braced herself as the strangling rage and overwhelming fear passed through their Thread from Viktor to her, the emotions anchored themselves onto her thoughts and she struggled to breath. Viktor leered at her, disgusted and betrayed, “So, you can stand by my side when I trounce on people’s ‘rights’ for The Family for <i>money</i> but the moment I cast a single, tiny little fucking charm spell, so I can ease the pain of… BEING ME for one single fucking evening, you decide you want to grow a conscience and feign ignorance to the kind of work that I do? THAT WE DO? Fucking great work, <i>FAMILIAR</i>! Great fucking work” Memoria wasn’t surprised at his accusations, she expected him to deflect, but the pain of his accusations toward her still hurt her deeply. He was also missing her point, so she drove it home “My compliance is not a blank check, that you can cash whenever you want to justify your own fucked up actions, Viktor! Don’t use me as an excuse! Yes, I’m your familiar, this means that I TRUST you. I trust that you’re going to be honest with me and tell me when you do something like this BEFORE you do something like this! Otherwise, you’re forcing me to comply with some course of action that you’ve plotted in your own head! You betrayed my trust and that’s all there is to it!” The only thing Memoria could do was leap from her perch above him to take flight, she beat her wings briskly and pleaded for them to free her from this place and from this horrible human that she was tied so deeply to. As she rose above the trees, Viktor grew smaller and smaller and Memoria was happy that she could breathe again.   </p><p>Viktor watched helplessly as Memoria flew away from him. When he needed her most, she flew away and left him. He watched her small dark form move weightlessly through the canopy of the forest and vanish into the blinding bright sky. He stood there jealous of her and wishing he could leave his own body and mind just as easily as she had left him. A while passed when Viktor finally looked away from the sun bleached sky that had swallowed up Memoria. Viktor blinked a couple times as he regained his sense of awareness. How long had he been standing there? He felt hallow and stunned. His body hurt but he could no longer feel any emotions, he felt drained. Viktor’s face was throbbing with pain, he took out the compass he had packed and turned it to it’s reflective metallic back to use as a mirror. The bridge of his noise looked swollen and he had a deep gash under his eye. He tried breathing through his nose, and he was relieved that there was no pain tied directly to this. Viktor lightly touched the tips of his middle and index fingers to the throbbing mass of nerves at the bridge of his nose, he winced and held back a cry when the sharp pain shot through his body. He wanted to get to his camp, he had some supplies there that could help. He moved his legs to continue making his way slowly down the trail and he used his tshirt to gently wipe the rest of the blood from his nose and face. Viktor knew he was going <i>somewhere</i>, but he wasn’t sure where. He knew he was walking toward the Sylvian Trail. He thought he should leave this place. He wanted to pack up his books his supplies and his yurt and drive away. As he moved through the dense forest, the trees leaned into the narrow pathway, their wide trunks swayed and creaked in the wind. Viktor looked down at his hands, they were bruised and bleeding and they throbbed with pain. He rubbed them to massage away the pain as he approached where the two trails met. He stood at the intersection and considered his options. If he turned left, he could return to his camp, he could pack his things and put this entire ordeal behind him. He’d be at his apartment in a little under a day and he’d drink himself to sleep. He looked at the right path. It would take him further north. To Chrys’s camp. He could see her again. This idea made his spirits rise. It would be nice to pay her one more visit before he left the park. It would be so nice to hear her voice again.  Maybe he’d tell her how terribly her boyfriend had treated him. He knew she would be livid if she knew Matt was spreading lies about her. Viktor figured he couldn’t disappoint Memoria more than he already had, so he turned right to continue north. He wondered if Chrys was up yet, he didn’t want to disturb her if she was busy. Viktor looked at his watch, it was a little past 10 am. She had to be up, maybe she was cooking breakfast. Viktor slung his bag to his front so he could grab an energy bar. As he sifted through the pack, his hands brushed across a small jar and he remembered he brought the white tabs for the Charm spell. He picked up the small bottle and shook it lightly. His mind lingered on the thought of how effective the spell was, and how the spell had facilitated his euphoric evening. He longed to go back to that place. It would be so easy to do it again. He put the vial away and zippered the bag tight. No. He would not charm her. He would win her trust without magic.</p><p>Chrysalis stirred lazily in the warm cocoon of her sleeping bag, she stretched and felt the space where Matt should be and she grew startled when she felt nothing but the cold nylon of his empty sleeping bag. Her hand brushed against a folded piece of paper. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up to examine the note “Went for a hike to the falls. Sorry about last night. See you soon -Matt XOXO P.S. use the 2 way radio if you need me!” Oh yeah. They had a fight last night. He was being a complete Chad and demanding that they do things <i>his</i> way. She shook the memory out of her mind. It was too early to think of such things. She was famished and she hadn’t had any stimulants yet. She crawled from her bed roll and slipped on a pair of sweatpants, then she unzippened the entrance of the tent, and stood outside and stretched. The sun was out and the sky was bright and clear. Chrysalis stepped into her slippers and walked across the camp to the heavy container where they stashed their food supply. She opened it and began her search for something good to eat. She took out some left over chili that they’d brought. She placed a couple of thick pieces of wood into the fire pit so she could get a fire going. She grabbed a teabag from the box and she began filling a kettle with water from a tall water bottle when the sound of someone walking around in the forest grabbed her attention. She looked around and saw a figure moving toward her. For a moment she thought Matt had returned from his hike, but she soon realized it was <i>Vincent</i>, the man she’d met yesterday. For a moment she was startled, she’d just woken up and wasn’t really prepared to speak to a stranger, but she remembered how relaxing it had been talking to him yesterday. So she smiled and waved at him. Was he on his way up to the lake again? She went to the tent and pulled on a warm hoodie as she wondered if he’d had breakfast.</p><p>A smile hung on Viktor’s face as he made his way toward Chrys’s camp. As he walked toward her, he thought of what he’d say to her, maybe he’d just say “hi” and make small talk. He wanted to at least tell her he was leaving early, if she asked why, he’d let her know about the events that just unfolded. He wanted to be open with her. As he drew closer Viktor felt light and buoyant, she appeared to be looking for some food to prepare for a late breakfast. He looked over toward the firepit, which laid idle. “Hi Vincent! How’s your morning going?” She smiled at him and closed the box lid, however her smile changed to shock as the distance between them lessened and she saw his face up close. She noticed his bruises and bleeding right away “Oh, god! What happened?” she exclaimed, as she raised her hand to her face in shock. His clothes were covered in dirt and his arms and legs had scratches on him. Viktor was warmed by her concern “Its… not that bad. Really. Haha”. He stopped about 4 feet from her and crossed his arms and looked down. Chrysalis walked closer to him to examine his face “What the hell, Vincent? Did you get into a fight with a bear?” Viktor let out a powerful laugh to punctuate the absurdity of her statement and he looked up and smiled at her, “Yes… a <i>human</i> bear”. They locked eyes for a moment as Chrys looked at him confused at his odd statement, and when she finally realized it was a joke, she humored him with a chuckle. “Does it hurt? Sorry!... Stupid question” they both laughed awkwardly and Viktor looked down and away to enjoy the presence of her laughter. He really didn’t want to sour the mood, but since she asked “Yeah. I was down by the falls and a guy walked over toward me… he said his name was Matt…” Chrys breathed in a sharp gasp. Had Matt done this to him <i>HER</i> Matt? She let him continue, “…yeah. He said he was your… boyfriend. And he wanted me to stay away from you because… something I said or did yesterday scared you. So... I came by because I wanted to apologize to you, if that’s how it came across between us yesterday. I don’t… <i>didn’t</i>… mean to scare you.  That really wasn’t my intention.” As he delivered the words, he avoided looking at her. The sincerity of the conversation was difficult for him. “<i>My</i> Matt did this to you?” she stepped back and held her hands to her mouth to hold back her surprise. “Yeah. He said he wanted me to stay away from you. He said that you told him how uncomfortable you’d felt around me yesterday… I told him I didn’t think that was an <i>accurate portrayal</i> of what happened at the lake, between you and me… he and I exchanged words, and… he hit me so, I hit him back. Honestly, it all happened really fast…” Chrys looked away from Viktor’s face, she was speechless. She would have never thought Matt was capable of something like this, but he must have. Matt told her he was going to be at the falls, and that was where he and <i>Vincent</i> had their… altercation. Was Matt really willing to lie to someone’s face and assault them to ‘<i>protect</i>’ her? Immense pity welled up inside her for this stranger as she stood there stunned and horrified. He continued, “Yeah… it was pretty fucking terrible but, like I said, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I don’t want to make any more waves, so… we’re going to leave.” She looked at him, confused. “You’re leaving? Who’s <i>we</i>? Did you come here with someone?”. <i>Shit</i>, Viktor thought. He sort of didn’t want her to know about Memoria, but he smiled as her interest fueled his growing confidence “Yeah… kinda. I came here with my… <i>pet</i> raven, Memoria.” Viktor looked around at the tops of the trees and bright sky and said “She’s around here somewhere”. Chrysalis chuckled reflexively. Pet raven? What a weird guy. A small amount of the warmth she had felt during their first interaction was coming back to her, but then the guilt she felt overcame her. In her mind she was partially responsible for what had happened, “Vincent, you <i>have</i> to believe me when I tell you this, I did not tell Matt to do this to you! We just started dating and he… can get jealous, I guess. Though I’ve never seen him do something like this to a person! Especially a stranger!” Viktor watched her as she pleaded to him. He looked into her eyes and decided her reaction was real and genuine. His breathing slowed and time seemed to slow as well. He felt like he could hear his heart beating. “So, I didn’t scare you yesterday?” She laughed out loud “You scared HIM more than you scared me! And he wasn’t even there!” A weight lifted from Viktor’s shoulders when she said this and he stood in silence to savor the moment. “You said you’re leaving? I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have to leave.” He shifted the weight of his bag onto his back and looked at her and smiled “That’s, very nice of you. But, I should probably go. I really don’t want to upset your boyfriend”. Chrys had a powerful urge to slap Matt and break up with him for all of this. It was too much “Where is he?” she looked around halfway expecting him to be coming up the trail. Viktor hesitated for a second “He… stormed off, angry. I think he needed to cool his head. We both did” he laughed attempting to lighten the mood. <i>Shit, Matt can be a total ass hole</i>, she thought, she was glad he wasn’t anywhere near her, she would slap him as hard as she could. “Well, are you hungry? I was going to heat up some chili and make some coffee. And, we have a first aid kit. There could be some antiseptic cream.” Viktor looked up and slid his hands in his pockets again and looked away from her in an attempt to look like he was trying to decide if he should stay. He wanted more than anything to spend time with her, but the fear of Matt getting free and intruding on them terrified him, however the thought of being alone with Chrys for an hour was exhilarating, and he was becoming confident that Matt’s restraints were well bound. “Uh, coffee sounds great” he said, trying to maintain his excitement. Chrys smiled “Good! I know it’s not much… but it’s the least I can do.”<br/>
<br/>
Chrys grabbed the small cooking pot from a stack near the tent and walked 20’ across the camp to the idle fire pit and situated the pot on its cast iron holder so it could hang above the fire. “The coffee will be ready in a sec” Viktor followed her over to the fire pit and glanced down at the firewood. He pulled off his bag and sat it near a foldable chair that was posted next to the pit and he sat down. Viktor unzipped the small fannie pack around his waist and fished around inside it for the joint he’d rolled last night. He also retrieved the small red, rough faced crystal that was the single component for the fire spell which he always used to conjure flame. He thought for a moment about whether or not he should cast the spell in front of her. Using magic in front of mundane people was frowned upon by The Family. He slipped the joint between his lips and he picked up the crystal with his left hand. “Hey Chrys! Check it out!” Chrys looked up at him as she poured steaming water from the electric kettle into a French press. He held up his empty right hand, and he lifted his left hand to present the crystal that he grasped between his thumb and index finger, he then leaned forward to allow a ray of dappled sunshine to fall onto the crystal’s sharp uneven faces. The red gem quickly began to warm in his hand. Chrys walked over carrying two coffee mugs and she stared, paralyzed, by the crystal’s brilliant twinkling translucence, each tiny face of it reflecting a rainbow of reds and pinks into her retinas. She carefully walked closer toward the brilliance, trying not to spill the overfilled mugs, she noticed a white glowing in the center of the crystal, it looked like it was emanating a sort of energy. Chrysalis sat down on the chair next to Viktor and she slowly lowered the mugs on the flat surface of a stone on the ground. Viktor closed the gem tight into his hand and Chrys watched as the space around his closed fist became wavy and distorted like when an intense heat is lifting from the hood of a car that has been baking under the hot blazing sun. She looked up at him completely enraptured. He looked and smiled at her as he held his right hand out flat directly above the closed fist and he sharply snapped his fingers. A small burst of flame erupted fourth in a tiny explosion directly above where he snapped his fingers and the explosion rapidly flared out and formed an airy molten orb which lay roiling and frictionless in his hand. He held the tip of the joint to the flickering heat in his cupped palm, and he breathed in until smoke plumed fourth. He molded the ball of flame with his hand, making it expand and contract, then he used his other hand to pick up the ball, and it slipped softly through his fingers like mercury. He managed to balance the flickering ball onto a cushion of air on the tip of his index finger, they both stood dazed as the flame danced and lick the air wildly. He held his right hand out to her so she could get a closer look. She stared breathless at it. Viktor watched the light from the flame flicker as reflections in Chrys’s eyes. He slid the small ball of fire down his finger to his palm, where the fire pooled and trembled. He allowed the fire to dance just a few seconds longer and then he snapped his hand shut to extinguish it. Chrys sat wide mouth at him “Whoa! What was that?” He beamed a wide smile at her “Just a trick I learned.” He opened his left hand and held it out to her so she can examine the crystal, then he took another drag of the joint. She jokingly mocked him “<i>Just a trick I know</i>, haha! Sure, fucking Chris Angel!” She leaned over toward him to get a closer look at the crystal, “Feel it. It’s warm. Hold your hand out” She looked up at him and chuckled as she nervously held both her hands under his. He steadied his right hand gently over hers and he tipped the stone into her cupped palms. She gasped and exclaimed “Shit! It <i>is</i> WARM!” She laughed openly at the novelty of it. He picked up one of the mugs that she’d brought over and sat back in the camping chair and watched as she rolled the crystal around in her hands, she was completely enraptured by it. “It’s Quartz Igni. A crystal that absorbs and amplifies heat” she mouthed the word “<i>igni</i>” as she rotated the crystal in her hand and gazed into the tiny rose colored reflections of herself. She held out her open palms for him to take it “I’ve never seen anything like that, I’ve never seen fire behave that way! Are you…ok? Does it <i>burn</i>?” He took a deep sip from the mug and set it back down, then he leaned forward and scooped the crystal from her outstretched palm. He then laid both his palms out flat for her to examine, “Nope. No burns. Just Magic” all she could see were the scratches from his fighting, no burns. She took his hands into hers and turned them to get a good look at both sides. His hands were very warm from handling the igni. She used her thumb to traced the path the small flame took down the middle of his palm and she looked up at him “Wow, Vincent. Amazing. This… doesn’t hurt?” He looked up at her and smiled “No it… actually feels really good” she pulled her hands from his and looked away. Viktor took another drag of the joint and sat amused as she recoiled from the forwardness of his statement. She picked up her own mug and took a drink, Viktor watched as a bead of coffee pooled to the corner of her mouth and slid down her chin. She put the mug down and asked “I… wasn’t sure if you wanted cream or sugar so…” – “No, black’s good.” He lied. He could definitely use some sugar. She suddenly remembered the first aid kit, so she jumped up from the chair and hurried to the tent to rummage through her back pack to look for the cream. When she shot up, Viktor watched her quizzically, he put the joint out on the side of his shoe and followed her to the tent. She stood outside the tent and pulled off her slippers, stooped and walked inside to search for her bag. She got to her knees and pulled out a large travel pack and began unzippening it. “What’s up? Everything OK?”  Viktor asked as he crouched down to watch her. Chrys was on her hands and knees, hastily searching like her life depended on it. “The first aid kit! For the, antiseptic. For your face.” Oh yeah. He had completely forgotten about that. He saw her toss aside a yellow walkie talkie, some clothes, and a long neon colored flashlight. He thought about pulling his shorts down and grabbing the back of her head and forcing his cock into her mouth. That would certainly liven things up, he thought as he chuckled to himself. Instead, he waited patiently outside the tent and admired her energized movements. After a few moments, she walked outside and stood up straight. Viktor noticed she was holding a few small white packets and a small white tube in her hand, so he stood up to face her. He scanned her face as she examined his, he smiled when he noticed he was a few inches taller than her. Her lips were moving and she was saying <i> something</i>, but he missed it, as he was busy taking in her smell, it was rich and earthy, like marionberry and lavender. He wanted to grab a handful of her hair and press it against his nose to inhale her scent fully. He watched her hands as she ripped open a few cleaning pads and gingerly pulled a small square of cloth from it’s package. The sharp whiff of alcohol hit him hard, he winced as the realization of the imminent pain set in. She looked into his eyes and smirked “You ready? Cause this is going to hurt like hell” He looked at her and nodded in affirmation. Even the delicate dabbing pressure she carefully applied caused pain to shoot from the bridge of his nose and radiate throughout his face and body, and then once that was over, the sharp serrated stinging of the alcohol took hold. “Fuck” he growled through a tightly clenched jaw, she laughed “Shit, man. You really pissed Matt off” Viktor held on to the pain and then breathed to allow it to flow over his body. “HAha… you should see the other guy” Chrys scoffed at the brazenness of the comment and pulled out another alcohol wipe. She held it over his nose and asked “Ha! You saying you kicked my boyfriend’s ass?” She lowered the alcohol-soaked wipe onto the bleeding wound and dabbed. Viktor braced himself for the pain and laughed harshly as it flowed from his body, “Um… that’s <i>exactly</i> what I’m saying” Chrys was surprised at her mix of excitement and fear. If this man could over power her boyfriend, what could he do to her? She remembered the two-way radio. Chrys opened the tube of antiseptic cream and layered some onto a fresh alcohol pad, then she carefully dabbed the wound with the cream. “Hopefully that will be good for now until you can see a doctor.” She took his hand and gave him the tube. “Here, keep this. I’m sorry again for what happened.” She turned to kneel back inside the tent, but he grabbed her wrist before she could stoop down, “Where are you going?” She stood there alarmed but, still obliged him with an answer “I, wanted to see if I could call Matt, to make sure he’s OK. And to make sure he hasn’t gotten himself lost. He can be… pretty stupid that way, you know” she smiled trying to put him at ease. She noticed how firmly he was holding onto her wrist. Viktor loosened his grip on her arm a little and he rubbed the top of her wrist and palm of her hand with his thumb. Chrys looked at him, startled and confused. He slid his hand up to slowly rub her forearm through the soft fabric of her sweatshirt as he whispered, “I’m sure he’s alright. He can find his way home”, he carefully thumbed the zipper of her sweater and he pulled it down slowly to reveal the gossamer thin cotton material of her t shirt underneath, he admired the contours of her breasts as they heaved with her quickened breathing. She snatched her arm away from his hold and she went to step away from him but he pulled her towards him and covered her mouth with his and he kissed her slowly. As he inhaled, he savored her smell, and he closed his eyes and welcomed the sensation of his stiffening cock as it began to swell at the thought of having her. Fear and anger rose up in her as she struggled to push him away. She pulled her face from his and raised her free hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose, but he grabbed her wrist before she could. He slid his tongue along her neck and he slowly kissed the side of her face. She turned her face as he tried to kiss her lips again, so he released her arm so he could slide his hand down the small of her back, and he pulled her hips toward his pelvis so she could feel the firmness of his growing erection. He wanted her terribly. The shock of it all gripped her as she shoved him away and cried “What the fuck? What the fuck is your problem?” He looked away and attempted to exhibit shame over his actions “Heh.... sorry about that. I’m so sorry. I… I can’t help it. You’re the only thing I’ve been able to think about since we met at the lake yesterday.” He slid his hand over his crotch to conceal the warm, pulsing stiffness that pressed along his hip, but his attempts to conceal it only highlighted his arousal. “It was amazing, wasn’t it, Chrys? Alone together, in each other’s company? I wanted you so much.” He grabbed his erection firmly with the hand that had been concealing it, and began slowly stroking himself through his shorts. Chrys’ gaze darted down, fear mounted in her as she watched him tug at his stiffness. He watched her curious as to what she would do next…Thoroughly disgusted, she questioned him “What the fuck are you doing? Get the fuck away from me, Vincent” Viktor stepped toward her and took hold of her arm and he spoke in a low voice “And here we are, alone again…” he then slid his other hand on the nape of her neck and he forcefully brought her mouth to his and kissed her again, this time more greedily and deeply. He pulled her close to his body and he shivered at the taste of her. His hold on her was firm and uncomfortable, she wrenched her wrist from his grasp as he tasted and bit lightly at her lips. He groaned with pleasure as his tongue found its way inside her mouth. She pushed on his chest to get him off of her, but he refused to pull his face away from hers as his mouth explored her lips… her cheek…. and her neck. She turned her head to move her face away, and when she did he eagerly sucked at her earlobe, he dug his tongue into the depths of her ear, and he bit lightly on the soft dangly flesh. Her heart raced at the thought of what he wanted to do to her. Where was Matt? God, had this monster done something to him? Viktor’s hand trembled with excitement as he slid the sweatshirt from her shoulders so it could drop to the ground, Chrys tried to push into him hard to get him away from her, but he grabbed her other wrists to better control her and he pulled his face from hers and began licking and kissing down her neck, savoring her taste and scent. As she struggled against him, he maintained a fierce hold on her, he would never let her get away, not until he was completely satisfied. All he could think about was taking her, of tasting her… of feeling her. He was driven by the prospect of experiencing the tight contours of her cunt. “I’m not going to hurt you” he moaned, his hot breath blowing across the sweat beading on the surface of her skin “I swear. The last thing I want to do is hurt you” He pushed his hips firmly into her pelvis as he held her tight. “I swear, it’ll feel good, you won’t want me to stop”. The musk of his breath blew across her hair as she turned her face from his in defiance. He slid his mouth and tongue over her long neck as he kissed her down to her shoulders. He was breathing rapidly and his heart was racing, “If you want, I have something that could… help you relax. Its not harmful… in fact, you had some of it the other day”. Chry’s heart skipped a beat as she realized what he was saying, “What are you talking about? Did- did you--?” The words came to a lump in her throat, the horror of it was just too overwhelming. He chuckled lightly in her ear as he trailed his nose lightly up her neck back up to her cheek “You exhibited a very positive reaction to the experiment. Very positive.” She was utterly speechless. She froze as he buried his nose into her hair and breathed in deeply “God, you smell amazing” and he let out a low moan as his tongue found its way into her ear again. She had to get away from this man, whatever it took she had to get away from him. She desperately pulled at his hand which he had gripped around her wrist like a vice. He seemed unphased that he was really hurting her, she didn’t want to find out just how deep his depravity could sink. She spoke low and she tried to conjure a commanding voice, but her emotions betrayed her, and her voice strained and shook with fear when she said, “Vincent, Matt will probably be here any second!”, she hoped this would frighten him enough to get him to stop, but he only grew more persistent. He released one of her wrists to undo his belt buckle, he tried pressing his mouth to hers, but she turned her head to avoid him. He looked down to focus on using his one hand to free his belt’s clasp from the hole. His hand shook with the excitement of being so close to having her. After unlooping the belt clasp, Viktor ran his free hand up her sides and began pulling at the fabric of her tshirt, he slid his hand underneath and massaged the soft flesh of her belly. He moved his hand higher to massage her breast, but she pressed her free arm firmly against her chest, in an attempt to keep him from touching her. He excitedly pushed his hand down her sweatpants and he began to firmly rub her pussy through her underwear. She tried desperately to stop him, but she couldn’t keep him from pushing his hand under her panties and sliding his middle finger along her labia, he gasped lightly as he brushed against a cold metal ring that felt to be clasped to the skin of her clitoral hood. He slowed his pacing, curious of his new discovery. “What’s this?” Viktor asked as he breathed heavily into her ear. She growled in defiance as he fingered the small loop and pulled at it lightly, sliding it between his broad, rough fingers. Viktor pushed both his middle and index finger up through the entrance of her vagina, she clenched from the pressure and shut her eyes tight, the fingers he had inside her sported thick banded rings and she held her breath as he slowly eased his fingers in and out of her. He put his mouth to the lobe of her ear and began licking and nipping at the soft dangly flesh of her ear lobe again. He was enwrapped in the pleasure of her body, her breathing deepened at his probing, he began kissing her shoulder and neck again. She was furious with herself as she felt the moisture between her legs assist him, he began pushing his fingers in deeper. She continued to try to push his hand away, but she was exhausted by her fruitless efforts, yet he seemed energized and eagerly intent on his goal. What was his goal? How far did he want to take this? She thought, terrified to answer her own thought. When she realized he wasn’t going to stop, her struggle against him waned. He smiled and breathed heavily as she relinquished. His cock grew completely stiff and, it strained impatiently at the fabric of his shorts as her breathing deepened and she relaxed in his arms. Viktor was eager to find out just how good she felt, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull his hands away from her warmth, he moaned with pleasure as he savored the feeling of having his fingers inside her. His erection throbbed as the moisture of her pussy slipped through his fingers “Do you always get wet so easily? Or am I doing something right?” He chuckled lightly as he massaged her g spot with his middle finger. “fuck, you’re going to feel so good” he whispered, her body relaxed as he slowly fingered her, he pushed in as far as he could go “I’m going to fuck you so hard. I wanna feel how deep I can fit inside you”. Her head was still turned from him so he kissed her down her neck and shoulders and nipped at her ear again saying softly “Is Matt fucking you enough? I bet you’re never satisfied. I bet you can never get enough” He maintained a slow steady rhythm as his silvery ring clad fingers slipped in and out of her, he closed his eyes and shuddered at her warmth as he imagined how divine she was going to feel around his cock, he became mesmerized by the euphoria that her frustrated moans were inducing, he hadn’t felt this good in a long time. She strained trying to free herself from him, she tried jamming her knee up into his crotch, but he willed himself to pull his hand from her and he grabbed her knee in time to block the assault. Excited at her feeble attempts to stop him, Viktor yanked up her shirt to fondle her breasts, he savored the softness of them and squeezed and massaged them hard with his hand. He took one of her breasts into his mouth and he sucked and pulled at the nipple greedily. “Fucking stop” she demanded. “I know you want me to fuck you” He chuckled and released the tight grip he had on her wrist so he could slide both his hands down her waist and hips and down her sweatpants, he massaged her ass and took it in both hands and squeezed, then he eagerly pressed his hardon against her pelvis again. With his grip from her hand loosened she was able to push him away, then she crawled into the tent and grabbed for the radio that she’d pulled from the bag earlier. Viktor followed Chrys inside, took hold of her wrist and grabbed the radio from her hands. He looked at her angrily and tossed the radio through the entrance of the tent. He pushed her hard enough so she’d fall over on her back onto the large pile of clothes she’d pulled from her pack. He got down on his knees and blocked the entrance of the tent and smiled contentedly as she defiantly scowled at him, silence hung between them as each noticed the other’s rapid, shallow breathing. “Relax, everything will turn out fine. Like I said before, I don’t want to hurt you”, he promised. Chrys’s eyes darted to his left hand which he was using to tightly stroke his erection through his shorts. He watched her as she scanned the tent for something, ANYTHING to defend herself with. She snatched up the handle of the long heavy neon yellow flashlight and she held it to her chest defensively. He reached his right hand behind his back and slowly unsheathed the blade of the bowie knife from its belt holster. Viktor maintained the firm grip he had around his cock and deepened his stroking, the fullness of his erection strained against the material of his shorts, he aimed the tip of the knife at her and in a low voice he ordered her to "drop it". Chrys drew her hands up to her mouth to muffle a scream, and she obediently let the heavy flashlight roll to the ground, her eyes locked onto the glinting steel of the blade. Viktor smiled and relaxed his grip on the knife, and held it casually at his side, and he pulled harder at his cock, intoxicated by the power he possessed. Viktor stopped his stroking to undo the button of his shorts, he stood up crouched in the tent to pull them off. Viktor watched her reaction as he disrobed in front of her, Chrys’ face contorted with fear as the reality of the situation was solidified by the sight of Viktor’s full erection. She was visibly repulsed at the sight of it, and at his audacity in thinking he could do whatever he pleased to whomever he pleased. Viktor sat on his knees and ordered her to disrobe, she paused for a moment in an act of defiance, but his grip around the hilt of the knife tightened and his eyes narrowed as he whispered “I won’t ask twice”. She complied, and as she slowly disrobed he masturbated and grew even more aroused at the sight of her small supple breasts and dark tan nipples as she pulled her shirt up from her body. "God, you’re perfect" he whispered to her as he watched her breasts bob lightly as she pulled off her shorts and balanced herself from her unsteady footing. Chrys eyed Viktor with utter contempt and malice and she paused with her hands at the waist band of her panties. "Those too. Slowly" he said, smirking at her. Chrys's jaw clenched as she obliged him, and Viktor licked his lips at the sight of her swollen labia and clitoris. He basked in the contours of her form as she stood before him quietly enraged but totally obedient, he was so eager to experience the sensation of her, he was anxious to make her his. He imagined the moisture of her pussy, and as he did, he smiled contentedly, stroking himself deeply as Chrys watched, frustrated and powerless. Chrys eyed him with disgust as he masturbated in front of her, the thought of him forcing his <i>thing</i> inside her filled her with dread. His penis was short but thick and his swirling mass of dark pubic hair made her shudder, she stood in front of him trying to cover herself, terrified of the inevitable. When the anticipation became unbearable, Viktor dropped the knife by his clothes, and grabbed Chrys by the hips and pulled her toward him. She offered him one more plea “Vincent, please…” as he pulled her legs open and crawled on top of her to lay between her spread thighs. He kissed her lips and neck as she leaned backward to crane her face away from his, he kneaded her breasts hungrily one last time and finally turned her over onto her belly and forced her into a kneeling forward position. She tried to twist herself free as he pushed her chest into the ground and then lifted her hips up so they could meet his, but she struggled against him as he tried to steady her, so he leaned into her and pressed into her back with his right hand to pin her firmly to the ground. Pleased, Viktor savored his position over her by rubbing her hips and ass with his free hand. He slipped his finger along her clitoris and her glinting silvery loop once more, and they both breathed in sharply as Viktor spread apart her swollen labia with his index and middle finger and eagerly pushed his throbbing stiffness inside of her. Her entrance felt tense and tight and a brief moment of anxiety arose in him as he imagined not being able to fit, but the moisture his fingering had induced began to aid his effort as he pushed himself inside of her, and when his pelvis finally met the softness of her ass, he pushed down into her as he relaxed and moaned “Fuck”.  Viktor held his hips to hers to relish the sensation of having her pussy around his cock, her contours gripped his cock so perfectly, her loving embrace felt divine, like her pussy was made for him. Viktor leaned into his hand on her back and with the other hand he grabbed Chrys’s hip and steadied her to keep her from moving as he slowly pulled himself out of her. Chrys cursed at him to stop, and he smiled and whispered “You’re all mine” as he pushed himself back in again. He closed his eyes as he slipped himself in and out, he couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d been with someone, the familiar pleasing sensations overwhelmed him as they both breathed in deeply. He knew he wouldn’t last long inside her. “Fuck… you feel soo good” he managed to say in a breathy whisper. He picked up his pace a little and his breathing grew rapid as Chrys moaned in frustration beneath him. He knew she was enjoying him as much as he was enjoying her, how else could she be so wet. Between steady thrusts into her he whispered “How does it feel?” Chrys grunted in defiance at him, the mental and physical pain he was causing her was unbearable. She hated this stranger for how he was making her feel. “god, you’re so wet” he moaned, as he enthusiastically pushed into her. The pleasing impacts into the cushion of her ass drove him to push quicker, harder and deeper. Chrys's chest and hands pressed hard against the cold nylon of the floor of the tent which stretched across the firm uneven ground. Viktor was applying heavy pressure to her back which made it difficult for her to move. She was his to do with as he pleased, all she could do was wait for him finish, lucky for her, she wouldn’t have to wait for much longer. Viktor leaned most of his weight into his hand on her back and he closed his eyes to enjoy the pleasures of her deepness. He could feel her struggles against him subside, and when she began to moan softly with each collision of his hips to her rear, his pace quickened and he whispered, “It feels good, right?” She was defeated and exhausted but still managed another plea for him to stop, but her pleas went unheeded. He was hypnotized by the sound his steady downward thrusts were making against the suppleness of her ass, she was his to do with as he pleased and she’d have to take him until he was completely satisfied. “Why are you doing this, you fucking loser?” she cursed, as he held her down tightly. He closed his eyes and maintained his rhythm. Loser? He thought. “If I’m a loser, what would you call your boyfriend?” He teased as he leaned into her so he could fuck her deeper. He laughed lightly at her berating comment. He couldn’t stay angry with her, as the only thing he could think of was how good she felt. He wanted to be able to experience her whenever the mood struck him. He thrusted into her as deep as he could, he chuckled to himself again at her futile, empty words. He knew she didn’t mean it, he knew she wanted him to keep going. As he slipped himself into her, he used the hand that wasn’t pressed into her back to firmly massage her thighs and ass and as he did, he moaned between thrusts “God… your pussy feels amazing. You’re really tight. Matt’s a lucky guy”, Viktor felt the prickling sensation of an impending climax, so he slowed down his pace for a moment to savor her, he began pushing himself into her slowly and deeply. He wanted to kiss her and nibble at her ear again, but he didn’t dare let up on the pressure of his hand on her back, as he had her in the perfect position. Chrys shifted under his weight and moaned “just finish”, so Viktor picked up his pace again. He was more than happy to oblige her. Viktor eagerly pushed himself into her, egged on by her moans. As he persisted, he felt he was nearing climax, he thought of slowing his pace again, but he couldn’t will himself to stop, the power of his body pinning hers was intoxicating, he never wanted to stop. He chuckled again to her as she lay underneath him and whispered “You want me to cum inside you?” The only response she gave him was a deep satisfied moan as she tilted her pelvis so he could push inside even deeper. This was enough for him to give her a few last hard thrusts and suddenly the wonderful sensation overcame him and forced him to tense up his body and he braced himself as he climaxed. He gave her one last hard push and held her down as the rush of his orgasm washed over him, and his entire body relaxed as he released his load inside of her, he massaged her ass with his free hand, grateful of its suppleness. She shifted under his release of pressure in an attempt to free herself from him, but he maintained his hold on her back with his right hand, and he held her rump closely to his hips with the other hand, until he was completely finished, so she could take every drop of his cum. As his climax subsided, he slid out of her and laid lazily on top of her, he lightly wrapped an arm around her to kiss the back of her neck.<br/>
<br/>
Chrysalis lay there, frozen with trauma as Viktor spooned her. He massaged her arms and hips as he relaxed next to her, relishing these last moments of power. He laid with her in his arms, she hated him but feared his reaction if she retaliated. After a few minutes passed, Chrys gasped audibly and tensed as Viktor began to lightly kiss the back of her neck and shoulders again, he rubbed her hips and massaged her ass, he could feel the urge to fuck her stirring up inside him again “Fuck that was amazing.” Viktor slid his hand down to her hips and began rubbing between her thighs, he lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered, “I told you it would feel goo-” before the words could leave his mouth, Chrysalis turned to face him, and she grabbed the sides of his head so she could jam both her thumbs into his broken swollen nose. The shock of pain was immense, Viktor screamed like an animal as Chrys gouged the tips of her thumbs into his face. He pulled his head back and tried to push her away, but she rolled on top of him and used her weight to push his head to the ground. She quickly scanned the tent for the knife he had, but the only thing she could spot was the flashlight, so she scooped it up and cried out in a fury as she lifted it over her head to bash it into his face. Horrified, Viktor rolled from under her, causing her to fall forward into her missed swing. He tried to wrestle the flashlight from her hands, but she held on for dear life. He pushed himself backward and he scrambled to his feet and stood in a stooping posture in the tent. She got to her knees and gripped the flashlight like a club and held it out in front of her, taking a defensive stance, Chrys grew disgusted when she saw his growing erection, he wouldn’t stop until she <i>made</i> him stop. Viktor quickly grabbed his clothes, the small hip pack and the knife, and she watched, satisfied, as he slowly stepped backward 10’ out of the tent. Viktor maintained eye contact with her, she was beautiful and wild like a caged beast. She was holding the flashlight tightly with both hands now, which were smeared with his blood. The sight of her was terrifying and exhilarating, the two of them locked eyes, sizing each other up, each wary of the other’s slightest movements. She watched him as he slipped on his shoes and clothes. He sneered, frustrated at her as he secured his belt and zippend his shorts. Why couldn’t she be his whenever he wanted? He secured the pack around his waist, and he sheathed the knife. After dressing, he stood there totally engrossed and watched her, sizing her up, waiting for an opening, hoping she’d tire so he could take her again, but she stood there alert and resolute. She released a low, terrifying growl and got to her knees and screamed “GO!” Viktor quickly stepped backward and walked over to his messenger bag that lie waiting at the fire pit. As he picked up the bag, he turned his head to monitor her, she was standing outside the entrance of the tent, completely naked and maintaining eye contact, her vivid glower and the unnaturally bright flashlight clasped in her hands serving as a warning, daring him to come closer. Her defiance ravished him and he stood across the camp, hungry for another round with her. After a few moments he decided against it, he was pushing his luck as it was. “Your mate is bound to a tree near the foot of the Falls. You might want to go help him” was all he could manage to say to her, then Viktor backed away slowly and turned to make his way back to his camp.</p>
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